It Started as a Dare
by casisaidlegs
Summary: What happens when a game of Truth or Dare at the precinct gives Castle a fun idea of how to spend the next day? Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

_I edited this fic to remove all of the old author's notes, since I rambled a LOT when I first wrote this, over two years ago. I apologize if FF says it's updated, because there's nothing new in this story._

_Also, I got an overwhelming amount of support from everyone on this fic (more than I'd EVER expected to receive), so thank you all for that!_

_-Gina_

* * *

><p>It was a dull day, to say the least. No calls came in, alerting them of body drops, and any left-over paperwork, from the day before, was finished by around noonish, so everyone just relaxed in the bullpen, passing the time before they could call it a day, and go home. Castle, Beckett, Ryan, Esposito, Lanie... Even Gates was so bored, she decided to join the group, figuring time would go quicker if she had company.<p>

After ordering two pizzas to split amongst them, one pepperoni, and one with extra cheese, they decided to play poker with a bag of M&M's, Castle and Beckett eventually winning most of them, with Gates closely behind. She, unsurprisingly to any of them, had an _excellent_ poker face. They also realized throughout the game that she could actually be really fun, when she wasn't being their tough boss. The "Iron Gates" nickname was a little harsh, as she was refreshingly nice, and didn't deserve that nickname. Much like a teacher who is much too strict, but at the same time, you would visit them years after you've left their class, simply because you enjoyed talking to them when they weren't teaching.

"This is getting kind of boring, you guys," Esposito sighed, after he lost his final piece of candy.

"You're just mad because you didn't win, Bro," Ryan replied, "but I'm up for a different game. We still have a little over an hour to kill, before we can leave."

"We could always up the ante, and play strip poker," Castle smirked.

"NO," the three women replied, Beckett slapping him upside the head.

"Ow! Fine," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "then someone else think of a different game."

Lanie's eyes lit up slightly as she thought of a game they could play. She had discussed this idea before, with Javier and Kevin, trying to come up with SOME way to trick Castle and Beckett into somehow getting together... Or at least a _tiny_bit closer together than they already were. She was tired of them dancing around each other, so she decided to take things into her own hands. "How about Truth or Dare?"

Kate glared at Lanie, Ryan and Espo smirked, and Rick choked on the water he'd just taken a sip of. They all knew instantly where this was headed; what Lanie was thinking. Gates maintained completely normal, holding onto that poker face from before. She wasn't stupid, and had noticed the extreme chemistry between Beckett and Castle. She, herself, was getting tired of them not getting together, and she had only known them for around half a year. She could only imagine how tired everyone else was of seeing their unresolved sexual tension. But for now, she pretended she didn't know a thing. It was easier to observe them that way, when they worked.

Ryan and Esposito agreed to it, followed by Castle and then Gates. All eyes turned to Kate, and waited for her answer.

"Oh, what the hell, I'm in," she replied, figuring that she could let loose, and have more fun doing this than she had in poker, even though she kicked ass in that game.

"Alright, awesome. We should get into a circle that's not surrounding a desk," Castle said.

Everyone slid their chairs into a clear area, away from all of the desks. They sat in a circle. Castle next to Kate, followed by Javi, Lanie, Kevin, and finally Gates, and the game began.

"Who wants to go first?" Lanie asked.

"Wait, shouldn't we put some boundaries on the questions? Or the dares?" Kate questioned, suddenly very cautious of the things that could happen in a game of Truth or Dare.

"Come on, detective, live a little. Have some fun," Gates replied, causing jaws to drop, not believing that those words were uttered from their _captain_, of all people. "Don't worry. We can drop the whole boss/employee relationship, for now, and be friends, who can joke around and just relax."

"Um, okay..." Kate said, slowly, and way too nervous to _just_ relax.

"I guess I'll ask first. Ryan, Truth or Dare?" Espo asked.

"Truth."

"What was your least favorite wedding present?"

"Jenny's cousin got us a toaster. I mean, talk about cliché, right?"

"Ha, definitely," Rick replied, "at least think of something _original_. Okay, Ryan, your turn."

"Alrighty, hmm...," he pondered for a moment, "Lanie, Truth or Dare."

"Dare," she smiled, confidently.

"Okay. I dare you to rap some of 'Baby Got Back'."

Lanie did a spectacular job of rapping most of the song, before she gave up and asked if that was enough. They all laughed, applauding, and then bounced a few more truths and dares around, to Gates, Esposito, and then Castle. It was his turn to ask a question.

"Kate. Truth or Dare?

Her heart clenched when he used her first name. It always did, though she'd never let him know that. Not in a million years. She cleared her throat, and answered, "Truth." She was too afraid of what he'd dare her to do.

"When did you break up with Demming? You never told me when..."

Kate's eyes grew wide, clearly not expecting such a tough question from Rick... But then again, he had no idea what had happened. "I, um... I broke up with him... Right before you went to the Hamptons... With Gina," she stammered out, the last part sounding slightly angry, and slightly upset. "I was gonna tell you, back then, but, well..." she trailed off.

Now Rick's eyes grew wide. "Oh, shit," he said, rubbing his hands over his face. "Look, Kate, I didn't realize that-"

"Rick, it's okay," she cut him off, "you didn't know. It's in the past, forgotten. I wouldn't have let you win the bet when you came back, if I didn't forgive you. Needless to say, I was still hurt, and slightly pissed, but we worked through it, and I got over it."

"You let me win the bet?" he replied, smiling, and astonished.

"Yeah, I did. It wasn't your fault, and I couldn't hold a grude forever," she smiled back at him, getting lost in his eyes.

"Ahem," Espo cleared his throat, "Can we get back to the game now?" He asked, interrupting their infamous "eye-sex".

"Uh, yeah. Yeah..." Kate replied, shaking her head, to clear the trance-like state she was in just moments ago.

They continued the game for another ten minutes, Kate getting chosen again, this time, by Lanie. She decided to choose dare.

"I dare you to kiss Castle."

_Well, that was a very straight-forward dare,_ Kate thought, _Maybe I SHOULD have chosen truth, again, after all._ She decided it was worth a shot to see if she could change her dare to a truth. "I change my mind. Double truth?"

"Oh, honey, you do NOT want me asking you the truth I want to ask you," Lanie replied, sending a signal to Kate, with her eyes, telling her what exactly she would ask Kate to come clean about. Kate had told Lanie about Rick's _"I love you,"_and Kate was quickly regretting confiding in her friend. She wasn't ready for the truth to come out, especially not in a silly little game of truth or dare.

"You wouldn't," Kate half-whispered, in a slightly angry, slightly scared tone.

Lanie just raised an eyebrow, as if to say _"Try me"_.

"Fine, I'll kiss him," she replied, much to Castle's surprise.

"Really?" he asked, failing miserably to maintain his cool.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" she smiled slightly.

Leaning forward, she rested her hand on his cheek, and slowly moved in, her eyes flickering down to his lips, just as he discreetly wet them with his tongue. They shut their eyes as she finally closing the distance between them, sealing her mouth to his in a searing kiss. It was hot, and passionate, but it was also filled with so much love. Both of them felt it, the rest of the group completely forgotten by them, once again.

A few moments later, Kate felt his tongue tracing her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth, welcoming him to join her in a battle for dominance.


	2. Chapter 2

After what could have been minutes, or hours, they finally separated, both quietly gasping, and slightly flushed. Rick leaned forward, to whisper in her ear, "I'm surprised you didn't moan like you did, when we kissed, in the alley."

Her face went from the light shade of pink, straight to a deep shade of maroon, flicked his shoulder, as if to say _"Shut up about that, especially in front of our friends"_, and then confessed, in a teasing tone, "Well, Castle, if you must know, I know how to control the noises I make, when I'm turned on, in front of our friends."

Castle just stared at her, jaw almost hitting the floor, "Oh _really_?" he asked. Kate could see the wheels turning in his head. She could see that he had a plan, and she didn't like where his mind might be going. She may be intrigued, but she was definitely nervous.

They finally turned back to the group, bracing themselves for their friends' reactions. Gates was smirking, Ryan and Espo were in shock, and Lanie looked like Christmas had come early. She was _beaming_.

After a lot of truths being told, and dares being done, Kate, once again, found herself being asked, "Truth or Dare," by Rick. She was afraid to answer "Truth" again, wanting to avoid talking about the "I love you," which Kate was more than sure Rick was suspicious of, and would ask if he got the chance.

"Dare," she replied.

"I dare you to do something..."

"Oh, gee, that's a good dare, Rick."

"I didn't finish. I dare you to do something. But they..." he pointed at the others, "... cannot know what I dare you to do. The dare will take place at the precinct tomorrow. They may or may not figure out what the dare is, over the course of the day."

"No."

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun."

"Give me some kind of hint, or something, because I don't like what might be going on in your mind right now."

"Well, hmm... Okay, the dare does not include us making body any kind of physical contact, or me seeing any part of you that I cannot see right now."

"Okay, so we won't be touching, and you aren't going to dare me to flash you or something," she clarified.

"Right."

"Okay, fine, nothing you make me do tomorrow could be _that_ bad, or inappropriate, if those are the rules... Fine, I agree."

"Excellent!" he laughed, standing up and putting his chair back where it belonged, "and it's five o'clock, so we can go home now. I have some planning to do! I'll be over at your apartment in a few hours, to go over the plan for tomorrow, detective." he put his jacket on, winking at her, and then ran to the elevators, to get started on his plan.

"Oh, God, what have I gotten myself into?" Kate sighed. No good could come from Castle being _that_ excited over a simple dare. Especially one with those rules.

Everyone followed Castle's lead, and left shortly after.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Kate hears a knock at her apartment door. She opens it to find Castle, ecstatic, holding a bag in his hand. She was even more nervous than when she had originally made the plans.<p>

"Come on in, Castle," she said, "do you want anything to drink?"

He wasted no time in sharing his plan with her. "No thanks, I'm good. Okay, so are you _sure_ you're willing to go through with the dare?"

"No, I'm not sure, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to do it."

They both decided to sit on the couch.

"Okay, but just remember, you asked for it. Give me your hand," he said, pulling something out of the bag.

"Um, okay?" she replied.

He put something the size, shape, and color of a robin's egg in her hand. Attached to the "egg" was a string. "Castle... What is this...?" she asked, her eyes widening when she realized what exactly it might be.

Surely enough, he pulled out a remote control, and pressed a button. The egg started trembling in her hand, and she gasped, her face, once again, turning red. He just chuckled, watching her reaction. Tomorrow was going to be FUN!

"Castle, you are _not_ using this on me, tomorrow," she said, anger in her tone.

"Sorry, detective, but you said you'd do it. You never back down from dares, do you?"

"But this is completely inappropriate!"

"Just consider it a punishment."

"For?"

"For lying about what you remember from Montgomery's funeral."

Her eyes bulged out of her head, "You know-"

"Yes, I know that you remember. I know that you're not ready for us to be together, like that, yet. But I also know you feel the same way, even if you're not ready to say it, yet."

"But how-"

"Kate, I can read you like a book. You should know that by now. I figured out that you remembered when you didn't look me in the eyes when I asked you about it the second time. I know you're not ready to be together because of the wall you have, and you know I'm willing to wait. Finally, I know you feel the same way as I do, because I can see it in your eyes. But, we won't talk about it until you're ready to."

She was at a loss for words. How Rick could be so understanding, and caring, was beyond her. She then remembered the toy that was still vibrating in her hand, and that he planned on punishing her with it. _At least it would be a fun punishment_, she thought, the corners of her mouth turning upwards, just a tad.

"You said you can control the noises you make in front of our friends. I DARE you to try. Of course, there will be no coming, unless I tell you to, and you're not allowed to get yourself off in the bathroom. That wouldn't make it a punishment. That would make it way too fun for you, and way too easy of a dare."

"You're evil, you know that?" she remarked, after a minute.

"I know, but you'll enjoy it."

"I don't doubt that," she said, under her breath.

Rick heard what she said, and laughed. He was shocked that she didn't fight him over it, and agreed. He never in a million years expected her to agree to it, but she did, and that made him all the more happy and excited for tomorrow.

"Put it where you want to put it... You know, in or around your... Well... You know what to do with it...," he stammered out, awkwardly, recovering with, "... when you enter the precinct, I'll have the time of my life trying to get you gasp or moan, inflicting a pleasant torture on your body. It'll be all the more fun, because only you and I will know what's going on." He stood up to leave, and she stood up, too. "Oh, and no taking it out, detective. That would ruin the fun, too."

"Castle?" she asked

"Yeah?"

"Um, how many settings are there on the vibrator?"

"Ten," he replied, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh, God," she replied, falling back down, onto the couch, putting her head in her hands.

"I'll let myself out. It's obvious your mind is currently occupied" he said, laughing all the way to the door, "See you tomorrow, Kate," he smirked, as he shut the door behind himself.


	3. Chapter 3

After Rick left her apartment, Kate couldn't stop thinking about the day ahead of her. How the hell was she supposed to last a full day, in the precinct, with a vibrator between her legs? She took a shower, changed into her pajamas, grabbed her phone, and sat on her bed. She needed some answers before she went through with the dare. She couldn't tell Lanie, because that would be breaking the rules. Her best bet was to talk to Castle, and try to somehow get him to calm her nerves about the upcoming day. She groaned, lying down on her bed, and texted Castle.

**What the hell have you getting me into, tomorrow?**

He responded a few moments later.

**Kate, the question is, "What's getting into you, tomorrow?"**

She rolled her eyes and then typed out a reply.

**Haha, very funny, Castle.**

He could picture her rolling her eyes at his joke, but he couldn't resist telling it anyway.

**I thought it was. So what exactly is wrong?**

Kate was too tired to type out everything, so she decided to call him. He picked up after the second ring. "You know damn well what's wrong, Castle!" she exclaimed into the phone.

"I'm sure there are a number of things that are going through your head, and I'm more than willing to talk you through my plans for tomorrow, if that'll ease any doubts."

"I'm listening."

"Okay, well, first off, the vibrator is extremely quiet, but super powerful, so don't worry about the boys, Lanie, or Gates hearing it," he replied

"Come to think of it, it WAS pretty silent when you turned it on, earlier."

"Yep. I made sure it was. It wouldn't have been a good idea for it to be buzzing loudly in the precinct. Plus, if that were the case, everyone would know what was going on, and then the dare would basically be over, since they all would have known what was going on. Where would be the fun in that?"

"It would be fun because then it would be over, and I wouldn't have to deal with it for the entire day," she said, and he chuckled. "And what am I supposed to do about the fact that, after an hour of what you have planned, I'll probably be soaked through my panties, and possibly even my pants?"

He felt his pants tighten slightly, at the thought of Kate being that turned on, all because of something HE would be doing to her, and mumbled, "Oh, God."

"Castle, I'm being serious with this question. If I were teasing you, you'd know it."

Gaining some composure, he thought for a moment, snapped his fingers, and said, "I got it! Just use a tampon. Maybe it will... absorb?"

"Sadly, that's better than any idea I can think of. But then it's going to be harder to focus when the vibrator isn't IN me, but instead, nestled against my-"

"Kate, he interrupted, "If you don't want to turn this into phone sex, for the love of God, PLEASE stop saying things that are going to turn me on."

"You're worried about ME turning YOU on? Have you forgotten what you're going to be doing to me tomorrow? I'm going to be horny as hell in front of the entire precinct, and you said I can't even come! Do you know how difficult THAT is going to be?"

"Don't worry, I'll let you come at some point. I'm not THAT evil."

"Ugh, I hate you so much, right now."

He laughed, and then responded with, "Don't worry detective, you're in safe hands."

"I know," she whispered, and it made Rick smile.

"By the way, I re-wired the remote, so now it should work even when we're nowhere near each other. Hey! Maybe it works from my loft to your apartment!" he exclaimed, jumping from the chair in his office to find his coat, grabbing the remote that was in the pocket.

"I highly doubt that it works from that far away, Castle," she said, looking over to the vibrator that was currently sitting on her bedside table. Surely enough, the toy started vibrating. "Holy shit. It actually DOES work from that far away."

"You know... If you want to take the vibrator for a spin before tomorrow, I'd be more than willing to-"

"In your dreams."

"Oh, they most certainly are, Detective."

"I'm going to get some rest now. It's going to be a long day, for me, tomorrow, but you already knew that. Goodnight, Castle."

"Until tomorrow, Kate," he replied, turning off the vibrator, as they both hung up.

* * *

><p>At around nine, the next morning, Kate entered the precinct's elevator, more than a little nervous. The vibrator was in place, as was the tampon. The control freak that she was, she hated giving her control over to anyone. She thought back to when Castle had just started following her around, when Esposito told her that her inability to control Castle was going to be more fun than Shark Week, and she laughed in the elevator. Back then, there was no way in hell that she'd EVER give up her control to Castle... But now? Well, times have definitely changed since then.<p>

The elevator dinged, signaling her arrival at the homicide floor, and just as she stepped out, the vibrating started. The vibrations were very small, and not very distracting at all, but Kate knew Rick was using the lowest setting, just to let her know that he was already there, and she knew that it was, unfortunately, going to get a lot more intense than it already was. She made her way over to her desk, Castle sitting in his seat beside it, holding up her coffee, so she could take it from him.

"Goodmorning, Detective," he beamed as she took the coffee from him.

She glared at him for a moment, before replying, "Morning, Castle."

Just then, Gates popped her head out of the door, "Beckett, get in here for a moment, please?"

"Yes Sir," she replied, making her way over to the door. About halfway there, the vibrations picked up ever so slightly. She turned around, and glared at Castle again.

"What?" he asked, as innocently as he could.

"Just remember, payback is a bitch," she replied, and then made her way into Gates' office. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, a few members of Karpowski's team came down with food poisoning, from some sushi they ate at a restaurant, and since your team doesn't have a case, you can step in, and help her if she needs it. Otherwise, it'll be a little boring, like yesterday, but maybe she'll give you something to do. Or you can always look over cold cases, whenever she doesn't need any help, but that's up to you."

"Sounds good, Sir," she said, turning around to leave.

"Oh, and Beckett?"

"Yes?"

"What's going on with Castle? He's been here since 7, which he never is, and he has been anxiously awaiting your arrival."

"I have no idea what's going on," she lied.

"It has to do with your dare, doesn't it?" Gates smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," Kate responded, leaving Gates' office quickly.

She sat down in her chair, and took a long sip of her coffee. Castle took this opportunity to click another button on the remote in his pocket. He bypassed 3 and 4, and went straight to 5. Kate's eyes bulged, and she almost sprayed the coffee all over her desk, coughing. After the coughing subsided, she whispered to him, in an annoyed tone, "Don't change the setting while I'm drinking my coffee, Castle!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he replied, amused.

It was then that she noticed how intense the vibrations were, and she squirmed slightly in her seat. "This is more like a bet than a dare, except without the stakes a bet usually has," she said, trying to distract herself from the vibrations between her legs.

"Well, I did DARE you."

"Yeah, but what happens if I can't go without making any sounds?"

"Um... Nothing... But we should make it a bet, as well as a dare."

"What do you mean?"

"It SHOULD have stakes, so when you lose, I get some kind of reward."

"I guess it should, but what would they be?"

"If you can't make it through this day without making noises that make people look at you like you're crazy, then you have to come over for dinner with my family and I, followed by a movie marathon, and sleep over in the guest room. Or, if you'd prefer, my room. I'm open to that idea, too," he grinned.

"Fine, but if I win, the payback I promised you earlier gets at least twice as intense," she replied, silently thrilled that it was a win-win situation for the both of them.

"What are you planning for payback?" he asked, slightly nervous, slightly intrigued.

"Nope. Not telling. You have to agree to it now, and find out later, when I win."

"So sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"You're damn right, I am."

"Okay, if that's how you're gonna be..." he trailed off, looked around the bullpen, finding them alone. Everyone else was in the breakroom, interrogating suspects, or nowhere to be found. He reached into his pocket, instantly finding the remote, and changing the intensity to 7.

Kate gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth, her face turning bright red. She was thankful that nobody wasn't in the bullpen. "You don't play fair!" she said.

"I never said I did," he replied, winking.

She wasn't even in the precinct for a half hour, and she was already close to the edge.


	4. Chapter 4

The next twenty minutes, spent at intensity 7, drove Kate crazy. She was _desperate_ for a little relief from the madness between her legs.

Of course, Rick noticed her internal struggle, as well as her external struggle, realizing how close she was getting. Her whole body was flushed, her eyes screwed shut, her head down, chin resting on her chest, hair covering her face so anyone who walked by didn't notice that something was up, her skin was glistening because she was sweating lightly, her fists were clenched, and she was fidgeting in her chair.

Knowing that he wasn't ready for her to come yet, and, if he were to be honest, just wanting to torture her a little, by not giving her any sense of relief, he reached into his pocket and pressed intensity 1 on the remote.

Just as Kate was ready to go over the edge, the vibrations decreased drastically, and prevented her from the orgasm she so badly needed. She looked up at Rick, still flushed, and turned on as ever, and saw a smug grin on his face.

"Not yet," he said.

"I hate you," she gasped, putting her elbows on her desk, and rested her head in her hands.

Rick leaned over, and whispered in her ear, "Oh, Kate, we _both_ know that you most certainly do _not_ hate me."

Just then, the elevator dinged, and Ryan and Esposito walked in.

"Morning, boys," Castle said.

"Morning," they both replied.

Ryan walked over to his desk, and sat down, while Espo stopped at Kate's desk, and looked down at the detective, who still had her head in her hands.

"Is she okay?" he asked Castle.

"I'm fine, Javi, it's just been a long day," Kate responded, even though she knew he wasn't talking to her.

"Long day?" Ryan asked, "It's only 10am!"

_One hour down, seven to go. I can do this,_ Kate thought.

Castle chose that exact moment to increase the intensity again, to three, which, in turn, earned him a death glare from Kate.

Gates came out a few minutes later, and called Ryan and Esposito into her office, to inform them about the few members of Karpowski's team being sick, as she had informed Kate earlier. Karpowski came around the corner with a file in hand, and walked over to Kate's desk.

"Hey, guys. Beckett, could you please do me a favor, and run down to the morgue, to see if Lanie's done with the autopsy files, for my case?" she asked.

"Sure, no problem."

"Alright, thanks," and with that, she walked away.

"C'mon, writer boy, field trip." Kate said, standing up from her chair, her knees buckling slightly before she got control over them again. Rick couldn't help but snicker when he saw how affected by this she truly was.

"Need me to carry you there? You don't want to fall over," he smirked.

"Just remember that I have a gun," she said, walking towards the elevator, Rick following closely behind.

When they were both standing in the elevator, Kate pressed the button to get them to the morgue, and turned to look at Rick. "Of all the stupid things you've done, over the years we've known each other, that have annoyed me, this has to be the most annoying. How did you ever come up with this idea, anyway?"

"Mostly fantasies," he replied, honestly, "The idea of you all hot and bothered, because of me, and you can't do anything about it? Quite a turn on... And when the opportunity presented itself, I had to jump at the chance to inflict sweet, sweet torture on you."

"Sometimes, I worry about what goes on in that head of yours."

"Which head?" he joked.

"Touché..."

"Wait, wait, wait... Are you implying that you've thought about my _other_ head before?" he asked, a little shocked.

She figured if she was going to be tortured by him for the rest of the day, she might as well torture him a bit. She stepped right in front of him, face a few inches away, quirked an eyebrow, and in a quiet, sexy voice, said, "Oh, Castle, if you only _knew_ how much I thought about your _other_ head..." she said, glancing down to his crotch, and then back to his eyes.

Then she walked out of the elevator doors, that had just opened, leaving him there, with his chin on the floor. "Close your mouth, Castle," she called back to him, not even turning around, "You don't want to catch flies."


	5. Chapter 5

Walking down the hallway, to the morgue, Kate knew this would be the most difficult encounter of the day. Gates was suspicious, she was sure of that. The boys, though they didn't spend much time together, between the time they came in, and the time they were called into Gates' office, seemed suspicious enough that they knew _something_ was up.

But Lanie? No. Lanie could see right through her. They've been best friends ever since they started working together. There is absolutely no way that she won't know something is up... And knowing Lanie? She'll get it out of them, too.

Taking a deep breath, and opening the doors, she and Castle walked into the morgue.

"Morning, Lanie," she greeted.

"Morning Kate, morning Castle. Are you guys here to collect files for Karpowski's case?"

"Yup."

"Alright, they're right here on the table..." she trailed off, finally getting a good look at the flushed detective. "Alright, spill. What's going on?"

_Damn it,_ Kate thought, _we haven't even been here for a minute, and she knows something's up._

"Nothing's going on, why do you ask?" Kate replied, trying to ignore the look on Lanie's face, as well as the vibrations, between her legs, which she was sure just became more intense.

Lanie figured Kate would be a tough nut to crack, so she turned her attention to Castle, figuring it would be easier to get the answers out of him.

"Castle, what's in your pocket?" she asked, noticing that he wouldn't take his hand out of his pocket, and that Castle usually didn't have his hands in his pockets.

"Uhh... My hand?"

"Mhmm... What else is in your pocket?"

"Nothing," he replied.

"Suuuure, it's nothing," she replied, sarcastically, "Castle, give me your hand."

"No."

"Damn it, Castle, give it to me."

He took his hand out, of course, leaving the remote inside of his pocket, and held his hand out for Lanie to see. "See? Nothing is in my hand."

"Ugh, I don't have time for this," Lanie said, reaching into Castle's pocket, searching for whatever she thought was in his hand.

"Hey, hey, hey! If you're gonna put your hand in my pocket, at least buy me dinner, first!" he said.

Lanie rolls her eyes at his remark, grabbing the remote, and pulling it out of his pocket. She flips it over a few times, but couldn't figure out what it was for. It was just a plain black remote with numbers on it, and an on/off switch. "It's a remote..." she paused, for a moment, to think about what it could be a remote to. "What's it for, Castle?" she asked, starting to press random buttons on the remote.

Kate's face, neck, and chest, changed into a deep red, the vibrations going from extremely low, to obnoxiously high, to medium intensity, back to high, low, medium, and then high. Before long, Kate bent over one of the autopsy tables, her forearms and stomach resting on it, as her legs started to give out.

"Lanie, stop pressing buttons!" she almost screamed, which caused Lanie to jump about a foot and a half into the air.

Castle was crouched down, laughing so hard, he thought he was going to pee himself. Through his laughter, he was able to look up at Kate, and get out a few words, "You," he gasped, "should see," another gasp, "your face," before resolving into another laughing fit.

"Oh my God," Lanie said, "Is this what I _think_ it is?"

Kate nodded, "Probably. Now _please_ press a number between one and four."

Lanie did as she was asked, and pressed two. "And you agreed to let him do this to you?"

"Lanie, you know how I don't turn down dares."

"But why such a harsh dare?"

"It's a mixture of punishment and his fantasies, apparently," Kate said, shrugging it off...

"I understand the fantasies thing, but why punishment? What for?"

By this time, Rick had stopped laughing, wiped away the last few tears that had streamed down onto his face, and walked over to the women who were leaning against the autopsy table. "Simple," he said, "She lied about what she remembered from Montgomery's funeral.

"Wait, you know about that?" Lanie asked.

"Yeah, I figured it out... A while ago, too.", he replied.

"Castle, can you give us a minute? I need to talk to Kate, here."

"Oh, sure, girl talk, I get it. Can I please have the remote back, though?"

She looked over at Kate, who gave a little nod of approval, and then she handed Rick the remote. He left the room, and waited in the hallway, watching the women talk, through a big window, and straining to hear what their conversation was about, figuring it was about him.

* * *

><p>"So what's goin' on between you and Castle?" Lanie asked, sitting down on the autopsy table, Kate following suit.<p>

"I don't know." When she looked at Lanie's face, she added, "No, seriously, I have no idea what's going on between Rick and me."

"Oh, it's _Rick_, is it?"

"Ugh, I don't know. Sometimes it's Rick, sometimes it's Castle, sometimes it's writer boy..."

"So what'd he say when you talked about how you remembered?"

"Basically, he was really sweet about it. He said that he knew I needed time, and that he knew I wasn't ready to be with him yet..."

"But is that all true? Do you _really_ need time?"

"I-"

"Think about it, Kate. He loves you, and I know you love him just as much, so don't even try to deny that. Maybe you should just give him a chance, you know? See what happens?"

"But Lanie, he's, like, my best friend... no offense, or anything. I just can't lose him if we don't work out."

"Kate, he would never give you up once he had you, and I have a pretty damn good feeling you wouldn't give him up, either."

"So what do I do?"

"Like I said, give him a chance."

Castle realized about a minute into the conversation, that he couldn't hear anything other than muffles, so he played with his iPhone for a bit, waiting for them to be done. A few minutes later, he figured he'd have some more fun, messing with Kate, so he pressed 8, knowing that she had yet to feel vibrations that intense, (unless, of course, Lanie pressed a higher number, which she might have, judging by Kate's reaction earlier), and waited to see how she responded to it. He wasn't disappointed when she jumped off of the table, gasped, reddened again, looked over at him, and screamed, "CASTLE!" He feigned innocent, and she had to refrain from giving him the middle finger.

"Lanie, he's been driving me crazy since I got in here this morning. One of the rules is that I can't come, unless he tells me I can, and I need to, so badly, that it isn't even funny. We've been here about two hours, though. _Only_ two hours, and I'm going insane. I'm trying to distract him with innuendoes, so he doesn't think about torturing me, but it's not working. What do I do?"

"I have an idea of how to distract him, which also might make him let you come, but I don't know how much you're gonna like it."

"I'm open to any ideas, right now, I'm desperate."

"Okay, well..." she started, and then whispered her plan into Kate's ear, just in case Castle decided to try to listen in on their conversation again.

He watched them curiously, knowing something was up, but not quite sure what.

"Lanie, I don't know about that..." Kate said, after listening to what Lanie told her to do, "I mean, it'd be one thing if we were together, but we're not, at least not yet. Don't you think that's too... intimate?"

"Kate, you know you'd love it. What better way to torture him than to do that? He'd be so shocked, that he wouldn't know what to do for a few moments! It's a win-win situation! He'd _definitely_ let you come, after that, and hey, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help you get there," Lanie winked at her friend, "Now, I'm not saying that you need to go_all the way_ just yet. It's just a _very fun_ step in the right direction."

"I'll really consider doing that, because I don't know how else I'm going to last all day, or when he'd willing let me have an orgasm," Kate said, grabbing the files off of the table, to bring back upstairs, "but even if I decide not to do what you said I should do, I already told him that payback's a bitch, and I'm already planning how exactly to torture him when I do that," she laughed at Lanie's shocked expression, "Thanks for the talk, Lanie, I needed that," she said, hugging her friend, and then making her way over the doors, to leave.

"Anytime, girl, and remember, I want details. Lots of them, next time we talk."

"I'll be sure to give them to you," she smirked, leaving the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Three. Hours. Three _torturous_ hours had gone by since Kate first entered the precinct, and the vibrations had begun. The pressure was, once again, building to the point of orgasm.

On top of everything that was already going on, Lanie now had nothing better to do than text Kate, once every ten minutes, asking, "Did you do it yet?", to which Kate would roll her eyes, and reply, "No."

She started thinking that maybe she _should_ go through with Lanie's idea, and since Castle didn't seem like he was willing to give her any relief, any time soon - he'd still been pressing buttons on the remote, at random times, currently in a medium intensity vibration, making it _very_ hard to concentrate on the cold case she was working on - she should just force Castle to let her come. After all, she already had used up the tampon she was wearing from when she entered the precinct, and the spare she brought, just in case she needed it, which she clearly did. She followed through with her promise to Castle that she wouldn't get herself off in the bathroom. Now tampon-less, she knew her panties were going to get soaked, quickly. Not only that, but she also knew that her orgasm was going to be explosive, when Castle finally let her have it.

Her phone chimed on her desk, and she noticed that Lanie was keeping with her schedule, texting her exactly ten minutes after she had texted her last.

**Did you do it yet?**

Finally reaching her breaking point, she decided that Lanie's idea, was, in fact, a very good one.

**You know what? Screw it, I'm taking your advice. Wish me luck with Writer Boy.**

Lanie's response came in almost immediately.

**Seriously? Holy shit, you're gonna love it! I'm sure of that. Have you SEEN his fingers? Long, thick... And I bet that's not the only part of him that's like that.**

**Lanie! **Kate admonished. Good thing her friend wasn't there to see her eyes glance at Rick's hands, and blush.

**Just go for it, and have fuuuunnnnnn!** the M.E. teased

* * *

><p>She looked around the bullpen, noticing that it was empty. She then stood up, placing her phone down on her desk, and finally looked over at Rick.<p>

"Come with me, Castle," she said, asking him to follow her.

"I've always dreamed of you saying that," he smirked, still sitting in his chair.

"_Not_ what I meant! We need to talk, now!" she replied, grabbing his ear, pulling him out of his chair, and into an empty interrogation room.

"Ow! Ow! Apples! Apples! Apples!" he cried out.

In one quick move, she slammed the door behind them, locking it, let go of his ear, pushed him against the wall, and stared him down.

Ryan and Esposito looked up from where they were, in the observation room, to see Kate pulling Castle into the adjoining interrogation room, by the ear.

Fifteen minutes earlier, they were watching as Karpowski tried, one last time, to get the suspect to confess, to shorten his sentence, before DNA results came back, but he had refused to say anything. They were still in the observation room, just trying to avoid doing any paperwork or looking over cold cases.

"Castle, you need to stop with the remote controlled vibrator. I can't take it anymore, it's driving me insane!" she screamed. Good thing the interrogation room was soundproof, or the entire precinct would have heard her.

"Did she just say..." Ryan trailed off, looking at his partner, who was equally as shocked as he was.

"I think she did," Javi responded, his wide eyes never leaving Castle and Beckett.

"Castle, you have made me so unbearably horny right now, do you know that?" she said, angrily, stepping into his personal space, still glaring him down.

"That was the plan all along, to drive you insane with the dare that _you_ accepted."

"I wouldn't have accepted it if you weren't going to let me come after three hours of hell!" she yelled.

"Do you _really_ want to talk about time spent in hell? Because I'll more than willingly remind you of how you stopped talking to me for three months, just because you couldn't deal with the fact that I told you I love you!" he screamed back at her.

This shocked the boys more than anything. They looked over at each other, not saying anything, but silently asking each other, "Wait... WHAT?"

"Rick, I had just been shot! You really think I could have dealt with the recovery, _and_ your confession? It took me a month and a half to realize whether you had actually said it, or if it was just my mind playing a sick game on me!"

"Well, I've said it before, so I might as well just say it again," he said, his voice calming down. He lifted her chin up with his hand, and watched as her eyes softened, noticing that she was almost in shock as to what was happening at the moment. He looked straight into her eyes and softly said, "I love you, Kate. So very much."

Kate stared at Rick, shocked for a few moments, before pushing him further against the wall, her mouth crashing down on his in a searing kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist, pulling her closer, if that were even possible.

The boys now had their cell phones out, taking pictures of the two. They'd both started to believe this would never happen, especially not any time soon, and Javi had to wipe away a stray tear from his cheek.

Rick spun them around, pushing Kate against the wall. He knew she wasn't ready to say that she loved him back just yet, but the kiss said everything her words couldn't. A few moments later, they broke apart, their foreheads touching as their breathing slowly returned to normal.

Kate finally remembered what she brought him in here for, in the first place, and asked him, "You really don't believe me when I say that I need to come, badly, do you?"

"Fine," he replied, "on a scale from one to ten, how desperate to come are you?"

She grabbed his wrist with one hand, pulled the elastic waistbands of her pants and panties away from her body with the other, and shoved his hand down the front of her pants, so he could feel just how aroused she really was. "Twelve," she gasped out.

His eyes widened, and then screwed shut, as he hardened painfully, when he realized that she was dripping wet. "Oh, fuck," he mumbled.

"Told you," she said in a breathy voice.

"You know, Kate, if you want to come, and you need any assistance in doing so, I could always-"

"Please," she whispered.

* * *

><p>"Well, I think that's our cue to leave this room," Javi said, moving to leave, Ryan following behind, "but not without onnneee last picture," he said, clicking the camera button on his phone.<p>

"Dude," Ryan started, a little disgusted in his partner for taking a picture of their friends doing what they were doing.

"Don't worry, bro, I'm not being weird, I'm just gonna use this picture to tease the shit out of them," he responded, leaving the room.

Ryan laughed, and replied, "Good idea."

He closed the door behind themselves, giving Kate and Rick their privacy.


	7. Chapter 7

"I thought we agreed that our bodies wouldn't be making any kind of contact, today, Kate," he said, smugly, removing the vibrator, turning it off, and dropping it into his pocket, before sliding his hand back into her panties. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, holding her to him.

"That was before I knew that you planned on torturing me all day with a _really_ good vibrator," she groaned, frustrated that he was only teasing her, with a feather-light touch, not only avoiding giving her the pressure she wanted, but also where she desperately wanted that pressure.

"Well, the opportunity kind of just presented itself, so I took it. It's sooo fun watching you lose control... Especially because of me," he whispered, before taking her earlobe into his mouth, gently nibbling on it.

"Rick," she gasped out.

"Hmm?"

"Stop teasing me," she said, through gritted teeth, "I need..."

"Need what, Kate?" Oh, he very well knew what she needed, but hearing her say it? Hearing her beg him to do it? Well, that was just a huge turn-on in itself, and he wasn't going to pass up this opportunity for anything.

"... More. _Please_." As frustrated as she was that he was making her beg, she was even more frustrated at the lack of pressure. Her best bet was to humor him - maybe that would convince him to give her what she wanted.

"Hmm... I dunno, I kinda like having you at my mercy," he teased.

"I swear to God, Castle. If I had my gun on me, right now, I would - oh _shit_!" she said, as he suddenly parted her folds, applying just the right amount of pressure.

"Better?"

She couldn't answer; she just bit down on his shoulder, and moaned, as he circled her swollen clit, making her buck into his hands. He teased her for a little longer, before he slipped his middle finger into her, just a little, as he started kissing, biting, and sucking on her neck, delighted in the way she shuddered at the contact.

* * *

><p>"That was disturbing on <em>so<em> many levels," Javi said, once he and Ryan were back at their desks.

"I'll say. So how exactly are you going to tease them with the picture?"

"Follow me," he said, walking over to the bullpen's printer. "We print out the picture, and then write a letter to them on the back of it. Then we slip it under the door, for them to find. I'd like to see them try to deny it after _that_."

"Awesome idea," Ryan replied, "Think we should get Lanie up here, too? Let her in on what we're doing, as well as what Castle and Beckett are doing? I'm sure she'd love to know about it. Plus, she's not currently working on any cases, so if she's even still here, I'm sure she'd love to tease them, as well."

"Good idea, I'll call her."

"Oh, of course you will," he laughed. Ryan wasn't dumb, he knew that Espo and Lanie were starting to get along _very_well, again, and that they weren't fooling anyone.

"Shut up, man," he said, dialing Lanie's number, and pressing the call button.

"What's up, Javi?" she asked.

"You'll never guess what Castle and Beckett are doing in one of the interrogation rooms, right now!" he exclaimed into the phone.

"Wait, she's actually _doing it_? I thought she was just saying she would, so I'd get off her back about it."

"Hold on, you knew what they were doing, and you didn't tell us?" he asked.

"I just gave her the idea, and told her to run with it. Again, I didn't know she was actually going to do it! How did you guys find out about it, anyway?"

"We were in the observation room, when she dragged him in, and started yelling at him... Come up here, and I'll tell you the rest. Oh, and there are pictures to go along with the story."

"Pictures? Shit, I'll be right up. This, I've got to see!" she exclaimed, and the line went dead immediately.

A minute later, Lanie comes running out of the elevator, and over to Ryan and Esposito. Ryan was busy writing what seems to be a letter on a piece of paper, and Espo is waiting for Lanie, a smile on his face, holding out his phone to show her the pictures, and to finish telling her what happened.

"So anyway, she pulls him in, by the ear, and he's screaming, "Apples!" and she shoves him against the wall. She's yelling at him because he got her, like, craaazy horny with a remote controlled vibrator. And he starts saying how the torture she was going through was nothing compared to the torture he went through, when she stopped talking to him for the whole summer. Then, he's screaming, 'just because you couldn't deal with the fact that I told you I love you!' Ryan and I are thinking, 'What the fuck? When did this happen?' And then she said that she'd just been shot, so it's pretty safe to assume that it was when he tackled her at the funeral."

"Yeah, that's when she told me it happened," Lanie said.

"Wait, you knew about that, too?" Ryan asked, looking up from the letter he was writing.

"We're girls, we talk, why does that surprise you?"

"I think we're just surprised that you never told _us_," Javi replied, a little hurt, but he recovered to tell more of the story, "So anyway, then he's saying how since he's said it before, so he'll just say it again, and then he looks into her eyes, and said it, and then she slams him into the wall and starts making out with him."

"By that time, Javi was crying," Ryan butted in.

"I was not."

"Yes you were."

"No, I had something in my eye."

"Yeah, a tear."

"Guys! Continue the story. What happened after that?"

"So anyway, we start taking pictures of them, as you can see here," Javi said, showing Lanie the pictures he took, "and then he spins her around and pushes her into the wall. Then they break apart, and Kate's saying how desperate she is to, uh, come... But I don't know how much he believed her at that point. So then she grabs his wrist, and shoves his hand down her pants! And he's absolutely in shock for a moment, before he offers to *ahem* assist her, and when she agrees, that's when we got the hell out of there."

"Javi did snap this picture of them like that, though," Ryan said, holding up the paper he was writing on, for Lanie to see, her eyes bulging out of her head at the sight of Kate and Rick gazing into each other's eyes, with his hand most certainly in her pants.

"Why'd you print it out?" she asked.

"We're each gonna write a letter to them, on the back of it, and slip it under the door, so they can't deny it, since we have proof," Javi answered.

"Oh, that's brilliant!"

"Yeah," Ryan said, "and I'm finished with my letter, so you guys can each write yours now."

"You go first, Javi, I still have to think about just what I'm going to write," Lanie smirked, already deep in thought, carefully planning her words.

* * *

><p>"Oh, God, Castle," Kate moaned into Rick's neck. She was pretty sure she'd given him at least one hickey, as well as a painful looking bite mark, but she couldn't be sure; her eyes had been closed for the past five minutes.<p>

Since she'd been aroused all day, it didn't take long for her to be close again. By now, Rick had increased the depth and speed of his fingers, and could feel her desperately trying to not give in to the sensations. _Why isn't she just letting go?_ He wondered. _It's obvious she's more than ready to._ He thought about it for a minute or two, before he figured it out. Kate was a woman of her word, and if she agreed that she wasn't going to come without his permission, then she damn well wasn't going to.

Ready to see - and feel - her lose control, as well as give her the relief she so badly needed, he rested his forehead against hers, pressed down on her clit, rubbing his thumb in circles, and whispered four words to her -

"Come for me, Kate."

- before covering her mouth with his own, to muffle the screams he was almost positive she would let out. The moment her orgasm hit her, everything around her went white. Her knees gave out, and if he hadn't been holding her up, she would have collapsed onto the floor. The thrusts of his fingers slowed, but his fingers still went as deep as they already had been going, letting her ride out what might've been the strongest orgasm she'd ever experienced.

Both of them were too preoccupied to notice the piece of paper that slipped underneath the doorway.

It took a few minutes, but eventually her breathing came back to normal, and she regained enough strength in her legs, that she didn't have to hang on him anymore... Though that didn't exactly stop her from doing just that.

If someone told her, twenty-four hours ago, that Castle was going to finger her in the precinct, and that she was going to_let him_, she would have given them a number to a mental institution, as it would have been one of the craziest things she'd ever heard. But here she was, and she was _very_ glad it happened. Not just because of the relief she had, and what a great way to get that relief, but because she knew there could be no more hiding from him. Somehow, taking a step closer to each other in the physical aspect of their lives made it impossible to ignore the emotional aspect as well. They would talk, soon, she was sure of that. She knew what would be discussed in that talk, so she wasn't worried in the least. But at the moment, she'd rather focus on the man with the stupid grin on his face. The man she loved so much it hurt.

Her eyes met his, as he slowly slid his fingers out of her, making her moan just a little.

"Wow," she said, still a little breathless, leaning against the wall, "Quite some talented fingers you have there, Mr. Castle."

"You should see what I can do with my mouth," he winked at her, and she shivered at the thought.

"Well, I'll make sure to find that out later, then, shouldn't I?" she flirted back at him.

"I'll make sure you do."

He gave her one last lingering kiss, before stepping away from her, evilly letting his finger brush against her clit as he fully removed his hand from her pants. She glared at him, but decided to drop it.

"Have fun hiding _that_ from the guys," she grinned at him, eyeing the rather impressive bulge in his pants. He should have worn jeans, instead of his dress pants. At least jeans would have concealed it a bit more.

"I could say the same about that hickey on your neck. And the one I'm pretty sure you marked me with," he said, before putting his fingers into his mouth, sucking them clean.

Somehow, he knew she'd taste like that. He couldn't describe the taste if he tried, but he knew that since he finally tasted it, he'd probably never get enough. The way she tasted was addictive; like heroin - or chocolate - and he loved the way her eyes darkened at the sight of him enjoying the taste.

When she saw him put his fingers into his mouth, to taste her arousal, it took everything she had not to have her wicked way with him (again) in the interrogation room.

"I'll give you a break from the vibrator for now, but eventually, I'll make you put it back in." he said.

She nodded. _Right. The vibrator. That's how we got here in the first place. _Somehow she was okay with that.

"So how are we going to hide our situation from the boys?" Castle asked, as they started to walk closer to the door.

"Shit. We might not have to," she replied, when she noticed the piece of paper on the ground.


	8. Chapter 8

Kate sighed, bending over to pick up the piece of paper off of the floor. Castle, of course, took that moment to enjoy the way her pants hugged her ass perfectly.

"Stop staring, we have a big problem on our hands," she said, recognizing the handwriting of all three people on the paper, but not really reading it quite yet.

"Actually, the big problem is in my pants," he joked.

"I'm serious, Rick. Stop joking around, and distracting me from reading this. It looks like it's from the guys and Lanie."

"Okay, I'm sorry, what does it say?" he asked, coming up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder, and placing his hands on her hips, squeezing them for encouragement.

She looked at the paper, and started to read, aloud, the first letter on the page, in Ryan's handwriting.

_Dear Lovebirds,_

Kate groaned.

_Before you read the rest of this, I suggest you turn the paper over, so you have some context as to what these letters are about._

Rolling her eyes, she turned over the paper, and they both gasped, unable to believe what they saw on it.

"Wait," he said, "How did they...?"

"Observation room... Damn it, how could I have been so stupid? I knew I should have thought better than to do this!"

She felt him tense behind her, before hesitantly asking, "Are you saying you regret this?"

She turned her head to look at him, grabbed his wrists, wrapping them tighter around her, so he was hugging her from behind, and smiled softly. "Rick, the only thing I regret was bringing you into the interrogation room. We could have used one of the storage closets, the break room, or one of the empty observation rooms. Room choice aside, I don't regret anything that just happened."

He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, and smiled. "Good, me neither."

She smiled before turning back to the paper in her hands, and continuing to read.

_Next time you do stuff like that in the precinct (I'm just going to assume there will be a next time - if not today, then at some point) make sure nobody is around to see it. Luckily for you two, only Javi and I saw what you were doing. While**we** wouldn't tell Gates, I don't know if others would be able to keep what you did a secret. If you're wondering exactly what we saw in there, don't worry too much; we left as soon as that picture was taken, which was right after... well,**that**... happened._

_It's about damn time,_  
><em>Ryan<em>

"At least they didn't see _everything_ that happened," Rick mumbled.

"Still, I would have preferred if they didn't see anything at all. Plus, they obviously know what happened after they left; they aren't stupid."

"I know. Do you want me to read Javi's letter?"

"If you want to, go ahead," she said, holding the paper up so he could read it. She still wanted his arms around her.

_Dear Castle and Beckett,_

_First off, ew. That wasn't anything I needed, or wanted, to see. Ever._

_Despite that, I have to say, remote control vibrator? Genius. How did you even think of that, man?_

Castle snickered; Beckett playfully smacked him on the arm.

"Not funny" she said, trying to hold back her own laughter.

"Oh, it _so_ is."

_Ryan covered basically everything I was going to say, so I just want to say one more thing. I'm glad you both finally did**something** about your feelings. I'm happy for the two of you. (Psst, Beckett. This is an opportunity. Don't screw it up.) ;)_

_-Javi_

"I won't, Javi. I won't," she whispered, to nobody in particular. Castle hugged her tighter, smiling.

"I assume you'll want to read Lanie's?" he asked.

"Sounds good to me."

_Kate,_

_You'll have to wait until later to know what I have to say... Though, you probably already have an idea. __The boys didn't give me much room to write what I want to say on here, and I'd rather talk to you, about what happened, in person. Away from Writer Boy. (Yes, Castle. Away from you. I won't get all the details if you're there.) But let me just say that the picture the guys took of you two was HOT. Seriously, wow._

_We'll talk later,  
>Lanie xx<em>

"So... What do we do now?" he asked, loosening his hold on her.

She turned around in his arms, placing her hands on his chest.

"We have to go out there at some point," she sighed, "Clearly, I wish we didn't - at least, not until they everyone goes home in a few hours - but we don't really have a choice. Gates is going to wonder where we are, if we don't get out there soon. So, yeah, let's go out there, and bite the bullet. But then I have to go home and change."

He looked at her quizzically.

"My pants are sort of, um, soaked through, and it's getting pretty uncomfortable. Good thing they're black, or it would be way more obvious... Castle, wipe that smug grin off of your face."

"Sorry, that sentence just made me really happy," he paused, "You make me really happy. Okay, let's go get this over with."

"Wait, one more thing."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him hard, her tongue immediately finding his. She pulled back, and smiled at his half stunned, half aroused expression.

"_Now_ let's go."

"Wow. Yeah. Ready. Sort of. Not really. Let's go."

He unlocked the door, and opened it, closely following Kate out, as she walked out into the bullpen.


	9. Chapter 9

Closing the door, Castle thought it would be best to un-tuck his shirt, from his pants, in hopes of hiding the evidence of his arousal. While doing so, he noticed Kate folding up the picture, and putting it in the back pocket of her pants.

"What are you going to do with the picture?" he asked,

"Keep it, of course."

"Really? I figured you'd either shred it, or burn it... Or both."

"Oh, no. This is too good to get rid of. I might even frame it, and hang it on my wall," she joked.

Walking toward their desks, they were less than happy to find their friends in the bullpen.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join us," Lanie light-heartedly scolded. She was leaning against Kate's desk, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Ryan and Esposito had pushed their chairs over, so they were on the side of Kate's desk opposite her chair. They all wore matching shit-eating grins, and if Rick and Kate weren't already so embarrassed, they would have laughed at how comical the three looked.

"Looks like you two got our letters," Espo chimed in.

Kate walked over to her seat, and sat down. She rested her elbows on her desk, her face in her hands, letting her hair cover her hands - and her hickey - blocking from the looks she was getting from her friends. Rick, on the other hand, was frozen in place. He stood there, awkwardly, avoiding eye contact, hickey obvious to anyone who even glanced at his neck.

"Pay up, boys! I was right; they didn't go all the way in there," Lanie said to Ryan and Esposito.

"Wait, how can you possibly tell that?" Ryan questioned.

"It's obvious. Castle un-tucked his shirt, trying to cover himself up. He did a poor job of it, too, because you can clearly see how hard-"

"Lanie!" Kate loudly interrupted, looking up at her friend, "Oh my god, stop talking!"

"It's true, though, isn't it?" she teased, almost laughing out loud at the way Kate immediately covered her face again.

Ryan and Espo looked at Rick. His face was now bright red, just like Kate's, and his eyes were screwed shut. Just as Lanie pointed out, his shirt was un-tucked, and it wasn't covering him up nearly as much as he'd hoped.

"Damn, you're right..." Espo said, handing Lanie a twenty dollar bill, while Ryan did the same.

Just then, Gates walked out of her office, seemingly unaware of what was going on.

"Are you all as hungry as I am? It's already 12:45. Let's go get food at Remy's. I'll have my phone on in case anyone reports a murder, but hopefully that won't happen. I'll go grab my bag from my office, and then we'll get going, yeah?" She went back into her office, not waiting for a reply.

They all looked around at each other, slightly confused. Usually, Gates didn't even leave her office at lunch time, but now, she wants to go eat at a diner? With them? That was a little weird, but if it got them out of the precinct for a little while, they couldn't see any harm in spending some time with their boss.

"Fine, but Kate, you're gonna ride with me. I think a little girl talk is in order."

Kate looked up at Lanie, again. She noticed, out of the corner of her eyes, Rick walking over to his seat, and sitting down. He grabbed a pen and Post-it note, and wrote something down.

"Hey, don't think you got off that easily..." Lanie continued, paused for a moment to rethink her word choice when she heard snickering behind her. She rolled her eyes at the fully grown men, acting like children. "Pun not intended. But we_are_ going to talk, and we can do it now, or later. You decide."

"Fine, let's get it over with," she groaned, standing up. She didn't want to talk to her friend about it - at least, not yet - but she also needed to change her pants and underwear, and since the opportunity to go to her apartment presented itself, she'd take it.

She grabbed her bag and noticed the vibrator was somehow in it, with the post-it note attached. She looked over at him. Wasn't the vibrator _just_ in his pocket? And when did he have time to attach it to the post-it note he was _just_ writing on?

"How did you...?"

He just winked at her.

Gates came back out, and they discussed who would ride to Remy's together.

"I need to talk to Kate, alone, so she can go with me," Lanie stated.

"Alright, you two go together, and the rest of us can go in my car," Gates replied.

* * *

><p>When they got to the parking garage, Kate told Lanie to drive. She said she didn't feel like driving, because she was tired, but Lanie knew better. She knew Kate wouldn't be focusing enough on driving, but instead, her thoughts would be directed more toward a certain writer. She also told Lanie she needed to stop by her apartment, but wouldn't give any details as to why.<p>

Sitting in the passenger seat, Kate took out the Post-it note, and proceeded to read it.

_KB,_

_Put the vibe back in your panties after you change your clothes. The boys and Lanie might know, but Gates doesn't, so I'm not quite done having my fun with you, yet. ;)_

_Love,  
><em>_RC_

She groaned. That damn infuriating - yet, wonderful - man couldn't give her a break from the vibrator for a little bit longer than ten minutes.

When they hit a red light about half-way to her building, Lanie finally spoke up.

"So what happened in the interrogation room?"

"Lanie..."

"I mean, the boys told me what happened up until they left, but I have yet to know what happened after that. I mean, I can easily guess, but you know how much I love juicy details."

"Ugh, alright, fine. Well, first off, there's this..." she moved her hair aside, and showed Lanie her hickey.

"Shit, he got you good!" Lanie exclaimed, "That'll last a while."

"Not as long as the one I gave him will last," Kate grinned.

"He has a hickey, too? I didn't even notice."

"Probably because you were too busy looking at his dick though his pants!"

"What?" Lanie asked, as if what she did was completely normal, and not at all creepy.

"You were right about his fingers, by the way... Wow. Just wow." She shivered a little, thinking about it.

"That good, huh?"

"Yeah."

"So is the vibe thing done? Since we all know about it? It kind of defeats the purpose of the dare if we know about it."

Kate sighed, "I wish it would be done. However, Gates doesn't know about it - at least, not yet - so I guess that's both fortunate and unfortunate for me. I'm supposed to put it back in after I change clothes."

"And why exactly are you changing clothes?" Lanie questioned as she pulled into Kate's parking garage and found a spot to park.

"Well, just my pants... and underwear... You can probably figure out why."

A few minutes later, Kate changed and put the vibrator in place. Luckily, she had a pair of pants very similar to the ones she was wearing earlier, so nobody should be able to notice the difference. She removed the picture of herself and Castle from her pants pocket, and placed it on her bed. When she left her apartment, and was getting ready to lock it up so they could go, low vibrations started again. She dropped her keys.

"Fucking Castle," Kate muttered.

"What did he do now?"

"It started again."

"Isn't he at Remy's, though?" Lanie asked, as Kate finished locking the door, and they started to walk toward the car.

"Yeah. It obviously shouldn't be able to reach us from blocks away, but he rewired the remote, and apparently boosted the signal, so now he can."

"You think he can reach you from his loft?"

"He can."

"WHAT? How exactly do you know that?"

"We were talking on the phone last night, and he mentioned that he rewired it. Wondering if it could reach my apartment, he grabbed the remote and turned it on." At Lanie's shocked and excited expression, Kate added, "Calm down, we didn't do anything with that knowledge... Though he _did_ make it clear that he was more than willing to have phone sex."

Lanie laughed. "Well, duh, Kate. Of course he wants to have phone sex with you."

"And someday, I just might let him. Now come on, let's go. They're waiting for us."


	10. Chapter 10

Not much later, after finding a place to park, they walked into Remy's.

"Do you see them?" Lanie asked.

"No, but they see us."

"How do you know that?"

"Vibrations just got stronger. Damn 9-year-old-on-a-sugar-rush just _loves_ playing with his new toy." Kate rolled her eyes.

"Do you mean the vibe, or yourself?"

"Point taken. Apparently, both," she laughed.

Espo stood up from a booth toward the back of the diner, to wave them over, before sitting back down. Sitting next to him was Ryan, who was also sitting next to Gates. On the other side of the table, across from Gates, sat Castle. Kate slid in next to him, and Lanie sat down next to her.

"We just ordered our drinks a few minutes ago, but we told the waitress we'd wait until after you guys arrived to order the food," Ryan said.

After making small-talk for a few minutes, the waitress came back over. Everyone took turns ordering their food. When Kate ordered, Castle cranked up the intensity, causing her to jump slightly in her seat, her voice strangely emphasizing the word "fries". She gave him a dirty look, but then she came up with an idea that would make the next half hour, or so, much more pleasant, and smiled. Castle instantly looked nervous, knowing something was going on in her head, and that he probably wouldn't like whatever she was thinking.

Seeing that the other four were distracted by their own conversation, she very discreetly brought her hand under the table, resting it on his knee. She gently squeezed it, letting it slowly slide up to his mid-thigh before sliding back down. Luckily, there wasn't any space between their bodies, so it didn't really look like she had her hand on his knee, but rather her own. She looked away from him, feigning innocent, but trying not to smirk.

"You wouldn't," he whispered.

"Try me," Kate responded, quirking an eyebrow.

"You wanna play dirty, Kate? Because I can play dirty."

"Is there any other way to play, Ricky?" she asked, finally sliding her hand high enough to rest on his crotch. She made a mental note of how well-endowed he seemed to be, and blushed ever so slightly.

He tried not to groan. "Fair enough."

Their food arrived, so she reluctantly removed her hand from him, to eat it.

"Captain Gates," Rick said, an evil twinkle in his eye, reaching for the remote in his pocket, "Pick a number between five and ten."

"Hmm... Eight?" Gates responded, confused at the randomness of the question.

Kate's eyes widened when she realized what he was going to do.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed.

"Castle you better not-" she whispered harshly.

But he did, and she was going to kill him for it.

She bit into her burger, trying not to make a noise. When an uncontrollable moan slipped out, she covered it by saying, "These burgers are _so_ good."

Gates agreed, but the rest knew that at that moment, Kate didn't give a rat's ass about how the burger tasted, and that the moan had absolutely nothing to do with the food she was eating. They shared knowing looks.

She finished her burger quickly, before starting on her fries. Able to eat them with one hand, she slipped her other hand back under the table. She grabbed, and stroked Rick through his pants, with enough pressure that, while definitely pleasurable, it also bordered on pain. He guessed he deserved it, but knew that if she continued what she was doing for more than five minutes, he'd have a very embarrassing situation on his hands... Or, well, in his boxers.

Lanie noticed what Kate was doing and tried hard not to laugh. Kate was, without a doubt, trying to destroy Castle, and by the look on his face, she was succeeding.

Javi looked over at Castle and Beckett, noticing not just how uncomfortable Beckett was, but also how uncomfortable Castle was, too. Then it dawned on him. He looked at Lanie, who obviously knew something he didn't.

"Is she...?" He silently mouthed to Lanie, glancing at Kate.

Lanie just winked back at him, and his jaw dropped.

"Seriously?" he whispered, in shock.

"Seriously what?" Ryan asked, suddenly distracted from the conversation he was having with Gates.

"Nothing. Tell you later," he responded.

"Ooookay?"

Then Rick hit ten on the remote, and Kate banged her knee on the table. She squeezing him _hard,_ and ran her thumb over his tip, causing him to thrust his hips into her hand ever so slightly.

They all talked for a few more minutes, both Castle and Beckett's voices slightly strained, though they didn't speak much, because they really couldn't. Gates told them that she had to go to the bathroom, so Ryan and Espo stood to let her out of the booth.

The second Gates was far enough away that she wouldn't hear them, Kate removed her hand from Rick's crotch, and grabbed his ear, twisting.

"APPLES! APPLES! APPLES!"

"TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF RIGHT NOW!"

"OW! OKAY, OKAY, I'M TURNING IT OFF!"

He pressed the 'off' button, and she sank down into the booth, gasping for breath.

"You alright?" Lanie asked her, clearly amused.

"I... I don't know, yet," she rubbed her hands over her face, before looking up at Lanie from where she was half-sitting, half-lying down, in the booth. Then she looked at Rick, "That was ten, wasn't it?"

He nodded, smiling slightly.

"Wow," she sighed, still trying to control her breathing.

They both seemingly forgot that they weren't alone when he asked the next question.

"Did you...?"

"I was close, and I could have, but no, I didn't. You said I wasn't allowed to."

He ran his fingers through her hair, impressed with her ability to hold back. She leaned into his side and smiled.

"I'll make sure you do, later," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"You better," she laughed.

"Uh, guys?" Ryan asked.

Remembering that they had an audience, they jumped apart as if they'd been burned. Kate blushed furiously, and Rick wouldn't meet their eyes.

"As sweet as you two are, together, you're also being extremely disturbing right now, so if you could cut that out, we'd really appreciate it."

"I beg to differ. Personally, I'm enjoying seeing them like this," Lanie said, "I've been waiting since the beginning for this to happen."

Espo replied, "Yeah, but being cute together is one thing. Over-sharing details about your sex life is a little too much information.

"Again, I beg to differ," Lanie said.

Kate just lightly slapped her on the arm, and rolled her eyes.

"Ready to head back?" Gates asked when she arrived back at the table.

"Sure, if everyone else is," Kate replied, glad her face was back to its normal color.

"I'm ready to go, but Lanie, can I go with you and Kate, and have you drop me off at my place? I have... something... I need to take care of," Rick replied.

"What exactly do you have to take care of, Castle?" Lanie asked. She knew why he needed to go to his apartment, but she was enjoying embarrassing Rick. Kate just smirked.

"It's a, uh, personal... situation," he responded.

"Okay, sure. We'll meet you guys back at the precinct in about twenty minutes."

"Alright, sounds good. See you then."


	11. Chapter 11

Arriving back at the car, Lanie spoke up.

"Alright, Castle's loft is six minutes away, so you both have that long to sit in the back, and be all lovey-dovey with each other until we arrive there."

Lanie sat in the driver's seat, while Rick sat in the back-left seat, and Kate sat in the back-right. She started the car, and began to drive.

"Lanie, that's nice of you to offer to drive us there, but Rick isn't going to his loft. He's going back to the precinct with us," Kate stated.

"WHAT?" Rick shrieked. "What do you mean I'm not going back to my loft? I have to take care of-"

"Yourself? Yeah, no... I don't think so. I think a slightly painful erection is just what you need for teasing me with the vibe for three hours this morning."

"You're seriously not gonna let me?"

"No. No I'm not."

"Okay, then I have no choice but to do this..." he said.

He pulled the remote out of his right pocket, pressing 10 again.

"Shit," Kate gasped, running her fingers through her hair. Within a minute, she was squirming uncontrollably in her seat, trying to avoid as much contact with it as possible.

Of course, Rick wasn't okay with her avoiding contact, so he placed the remote into his left hand, and reached across the seats. His hand immediately palmed her groin over her pants, pressing gently so the vibrations would be more powerful against her clit. She bit down on her hand, hard, to keep from screaming out. They spent a few minutes just sitting there like that.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" he leaned over slightly, teasing her in a whispered voice.

"Rick... Please..."

"Nope, you just enjoy it for a little while."

"But I'm so close. _Please._"

_Oh god, that sounded desperate,_ she thought to herself.

"You wouldn't let me have my release, why should I let you have yours?" he asked, pressing down a little harder.

She tried to speak in-between gasps for air, "Castle... I only... have so much... self control," she paused, "Regardless... of how much I try... to hold back... I'm coming in... about five seconds."

He smirked, "Okay, then. One, two, three, four..." and then the vibrations stopped, and he removed his hand from between her legs.

"Oh my god, I'm gonna fucking kill you, Castle," she threatened, burying her face in her hands.

"No you won't," he says.

"Okay, we're at the 12th," Lanie announces, looking back at a very frustrated - in more ways than one - Kate. "You gonna be able to walk, girl?"

"No promises," Kate responds, opening the door, and testing her weight on her feet, before fully stepping out of the car.

Lanie and Rick also got out, and they made their way back into the building.


	12. Chapter 12

"That was pretty evil, Castle," Lanie remarked as they all walked into the precinct lobby, and headed toward the elevators.

"Yeah, you can tell that to the painful straining - that _she_ caused - in my pants," he replied, pointing at Kate.

"Oh, no, Castle. The only person who will be doing any talking near your _'painful straining'_ will be Kate, and she'll do that right before she takes you into her mouth and-" The rest of Lanie's sentence was mumbled through Kate's hand, which had quickly covered Lanie's mouth to prevent her from teasing both of them any longer.

_Damn woman needs to learn to not say **everything** that's on her mind._ Kate thought as the elevator arrived, and the three stepped in.

Then an idea struck her. She looked at her watch. _Just after 1:30. Perfect._

She whispered in Lanie's ear, so Castle couldn't hear her, "Can you make up an excuse to Gates as to why we're won't be coming into the bullpen with you, and why we won't get there for... about a half hour?"

"Why? Where will you be for the next half hour? ... More importantly, what do you plan on doing during that time?" Lanie whispered back to Kate. She had an idea where Kate's train of thought was going, and fully encouraged it.

Kate just winked at her, and hit a button on the elevator.

That didn't go unnoticed by Castle, who promptly pointed out, "That's not the homicide floor."

"No it's not," she smirked, not meeting his eyes.

"What floor is it?"

"The Gym."

"Why are we going to the Gym?"

"We're not _quite_ going to the Gym."

"Then what else is on the floor?"

"You'll see."

They arrived at the floor, Kate dragging a very confused Castle off of the elevator.

"See you in thirty!" she called out to Lanie, over her shoulder. Lanie could only laugh, and pressed the button up to the homicide floor.

"So what else is on this level besides the Gym?" he asked as she pulled him down a hallway and stopped with her back to a door.

He read the sign on it aloud.

"Women's Locker Room."

And then his eyes got wide, his jaw slightly dropping, catching on to what her plan was.

"Aren't there currently women in there?" he questioned.

"Not right now. The entire floor is closed between 12 and 5 on Fridays."

"Why?"

"Don't know, don't care. Does it really matter?" she countered, kicking the door open with her foot and walking backwards, pulling him with her.

She brought him over to the aisle her locker was in, and kissed him hard.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We're not going to go all the way right now. We'll do that later. Right now, you're going to show me what you can do with your mouth, and if we have time, I'll show you what I can do with mine," she replied, watching his pupils dilate.

"Let's start getting you out of your clothes, and I'll do just that," he growled.

He pushed her into the wall of lockers, his mouth immediately descending on hers. He unbuttoned her shirt quickly, throwing it onto the bench that separated the aisle. He ran his hands up and down her sides, caressing the soft skin. She unbuttoned his shirt, and he discarded of it, allowing her to run her hands over his bare chest and stomach.

His thumbs teased the underside of her bra, and he brought one hand behind her back, unclasping her bra. He pulled it away from her body, dropping it carelessly on top of her shirt. He stepped back and took in the sight of her half-naked. Her chest was flushed, rising and falling with every breath she took. Her nipples were pebbled from the chilly air, and his warm touch.

"Beautiful," he whispered, looking into her eyes before kissing her again.

He made his way down to her chest, kissing her scar, once, before taking a nipple into his mouth, rolling the other between two fingers.

She threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him close as he switched to her other breast, giving it the same attention as he did the first.

She squirmed against him, needing more, because _fuck,_ he was way too good at this!

He stepped back toward the bench, and sat down, Kate standing between his legs. He unbuttoned her dress pants, quickly pulling them down as she stepped out of her shoes. He kissed from her scar, down to her belly button, his tongue swirling around it, and then dipping inside, before he continued his kisses to the top of her panties. They were soaked again, since she forgot to put a tampon in when she changed at her apartment, but was grateful for the extra pair of underwear she had in her gym locker.

She grabbed onto his shoulders to steady herself. He looked up at her and met her lust-filled gaze, and thought, _Holy shit, I'm about to see Kate Beckett 100% naked! Not only that, but I'm going to... Oh my God!_

They both smiled at each other, and she nodded, giving him the silent permission he was asking for, to pull down her panties. She stepped out of them, taking the vibrator away at the same moment, and then he placed a kiss right above her clit. She shuddered.

He rotated his body, lifting one of his legs up and over the bench, resting his feet on either side of it. He pulled her over to straddle him as he moved to lie down on the bench. He pulled her hips closer to his mouth and looked up at her.

"Ready?" he asked, as she situated her heat right above his mouth.

She nodded, and shuddered again as he used his thumbs to part her folds. He saw the light glisten against her and smiled at the thought of how turned on she must be.

And then he was on her. He tasted her, sucking hard one moment, licking the next. He took one hand off of her hip and plunged two fingers deep inside of her, vigorously moving them in and out.

"Fuck," she moaned, grabbing onto the bench in front of her.

He had absolutely no idea how she was able to not collapse on top of him. He felt her walls start to clench around his fingers and slowed down, almost stopping completely. He removed his mouth from her, taking his thumb and ever so gently rubbing her clit in circular motions. Not enough pressure to make her come, but enough to make her go crazy, teetering on the edge.

She was gasping hard and looked down when he suddenly stopped, almost completely out-of-it because she was so close.

"Beg, Kate."

"What?" she asked, dazed.

"I know how badly you want to come. Beg for it."

"Please," she whispered.

"What was that? I don't think I heard you correctly," he teased.

"I'm so close."

"I can tell. Beg, Kate."

"Please! Fuck, Castle, please let me come!"

"Come now, Kate. Come _right_ now," he demanded, redoubling his efforts as she came apart around him.


	13. Chapter 13

"Wow," she gasped, slowly calming down after a minute of trying to catch her breath. She was still straddling his face, not that he minded. _Nope,_ he didn't mind one bit.

He experimentally wiggled the two fingers that were still in her, and her breath caught. She moaned.

"You can come again, can't you?" he asked, incredulously, slowly pumping his fingers in and out of her.

"Oh my gosh, I think I can. I've never been ready to go again, this soon after an orgasm," she replied, even more shocked than he was.

"Are you okay with standing like that, or would you prefer to spread out on the bench?"

"No, no, no. This is _perfectly_ fine. Feels so good. Please, just, don't stop."

"Don't worry, I won't stop," he smiled, "You were so good at waiting for permission the past two times - earlier today, and just a couple of minutes ago - that this time, you don't need my permission. Just come when you're ready, okay?"

She nodded, and he brought his mouth back onto her clit, slightly quickening the speed of his fingers.

Her knuckles were white from squeezing the bench above his head. The pleasant coil in her belly began again, and she tried to keep from grinding down too hard on his face.

He could feel her getting close again, her walls tightening around his fingers, so he hummed, knowing that the vibrations would feel great for her. He was right. That move sent her flying right over the edge. He kept his movements up, prolonging her orgasm.

He removed his fingers from her, licking them clean as she moved to lie down on his chest, hugging him closely. She tucked her head into his neck, peppering light kisses there. Eventually, her breathing evened out. Comforted by his hands gliding up and down the soft skin of her back, and the warmth of their bare chests touching, she started to doze off.

Right before she fell asleep, she whispered, "You might not think I'm ready to say this, but I know I am. I'm so madly in love with you, Rick Castle. Please don't _ever_ let me push you away again."

"Don't worry, my love," he responded, smiling so hard he thought his face would split in two. He slid his arms around her, hugging her close, and continued, "It's safe to say you're stuck with me for a long, long time. Possibly forever, but we'll have a conversation about that later."

She sighed happily, and placed one last kiss on his neck. He swore he could feel her smiling.

And then she was asleep.

He looked around for a clock, as best as he could with Kate on top of him. Finding one, he noticed that they still had ten minutes before they were expected back in the bullpen. He grabbed his shirt off of the bench, before draping it over her back and bottom, and then brought his arms back around her, hugging her closer than before. He, too, sighed, loving the feeling of Kate in his arms.

He closed his eyes, falling asleep moments after she did.

* * *

><p>He woke, startled by his phone ringing. He reached into his pocket carefully, and answered in a whisper, so as not to wake Kate. "Hello?"<p>

"Where are you guys?" Lanie screamed into the phone, making him jerk the phone away from his ear, "You were supposed to be back up here twenty minutes ago! Surely you two could have finished everything within a half hour, especially with how turned on you both were when I left you."

"We fell asleep," he said, not wanting to get into details. Kate could do that later, if she wanted to. Even if she didn't want to, there was a good chance Lanie would manage to get the details out of her. Kate's stubborn about keeping her private life private, but Lanie's persistant, and it would certainly be tough for Lanie to get the details out of her. Of course, Lanie was her best girl friend, so maybe it wouldn't be as hard as he thought.

"Castle!" Lanie yelled, pulling him away from his thoughts. Her tone let him know that it wasn't her first attempt at getting his attention.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I said Gates keeps asking what's taking you two so long, and I don't know how long it will be until she asks what exactly you're doing. I just told her it was a personal problem that Kate had and she needed your help with it," she paused, and then jokingly added, "Not so far from the truth, was it?"

He laughed, "Not far from the truth, at all."

"But really, Castle, you might want to wake Kate, and head back up here, before Gates asks again."

"Okay, thanks, Lanie," he responded.

"No problem, Writer Boy. Just looking out for you and my girl," she responded, and then she hung up.

"Kate," he whispered, running his fingers through her hair, "Time to get up."

"Hmm?" she asked, slowly waking up.

"Hey, sleepyhead," he smiled at her, watching as she took in her surroundings and remembered what they were doing a little while ago.

"Hey, yourself. You make a comfy pillow," she said, snuggling into him.

"Is that just a nice way of saying I'm fat?" he teased.

"No, not at all. In fact, I quite like your body," she flirted, lifting her body off of his slightly, running her hands up and down his chest and stomach.

"Kate, we really need to get back to the bullpen," he whispered, as she brought her mouth down to his. She kissed him for a long moment, not wanting to get up.

"Do we _have_ to?" she groaned as they pulled apart.

"Yes, we have to. As much as I'd love to just stay here - kissing you, touching you, holding you - we need to get dressed and get back there before Gates wants to know exactly what we're doing. According to Lanie, she's been wondering what was taking us so long," he said, sitting up, with Kate still straddling his lap.

"When did you talk to Lanie?" she asked, slightly panicked.

"She called a few minutes ago. What, you thought she came down here, or something?"

"I don't know... I'm still tired. I don't think when I'm tired."

She felt him freeze for a moment.

His mind instantly went to her declaration of love, and how she said it when she was tired. _Maybe she wasn't thinking when she said it? _he thought.

"Castle, don't be stupid," she chided, slapping his bare chest lightly.

"I didn't say anything...?"

"But you were thinking about what I said earlier, and how I said it when I was tired, were you not?"

"Yeah, I was..." he admitted.

"And do you realize how far off your train of thought was going from the truth?"

"Um..." he looked away from her.

"Castle," she rolled her eyes, "Rick, look at me."

She put her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her.

"I love you so much. Don't you _ever_ doubt that, okay? You are so important to me, and the fact that you could doubt my love for you hurts a little, to be honest."

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"- don't think when you're tired, either?" she finished his sentence.

"Yeah," he whispered, kissing her again, "Okay, we really need to go now."

He patted her on the butt so she'd get off of his lap, and grabbed the vibe, handing it back to her.

"Really." she said.

"I'll give you some time to relax before I turn it on again. Don't need you going numb on me," he winked at her.

"You're going to get it," she threatened. It didn't scare him because whatever 'it' was, he was pretty sure he'd enjoy it.

"I can't wait."

They dressed, stealing quick kisses from each other, whenever possible, knowing that the minute they went back into the bullpen, they'd be back to working again... Or, at least, sitting in the bullpen, since there were no cases currently going on. Regardless, they would have to pretend that nothing was going on between them, because who knows how Gates would react to their relationship, if she found out about it?

After they were dressed, and their hair was fixed as best as it could be, they walked, hand in hand, to the elevator, getting in, and pressing the button for the homicide floor.

"There aren't any cameras in here, are there?" he asked.

"No, they broke about a week ago, and the precinct is still waiting on the new ones to arrive, and be installed. Why do you ask?"

"So I knew whether or not I could do this," he responded, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her hard on the mouth. Eventually the elevator slowed, and they separated. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she easily replied.

The doors opened, and they made their way back to her desk.


	14. Chapter 14

**(Bullpen)**

Lanie took one look at the expression on Kate's face, and knew they had another topic to discuss. Before Kate could even reach her desk, Lanie was quickly walking toward her, grabbed her arm, and said, "Let's go grab coffees for everyone, hmm?" before quickly pulling her into the break room.

"Took you guys long enough to get back here," Esposito remarked, once the break room door shut.

"Yeah, really. Castle, what problem did Beckett have that only you could help her with?" Ryan teased, knowing fully well the answer to his question.

"You two should know that I'm in a very good mood right now, so any kind of teasing isn't going to embarrass me, or get a rise out of me, either."

"I bet Beckett got a rise out of him," Espo joked to Ryan

"Or a few," Ryan added.

"Guys," Castle chided, shaking his head, before changing subjects. "If they're grabbing coffees for us, I'm going to use the bathroom before they get back," he said, shedding his jacket so it wouldn't get in the way. He put it on his chair, and walked to the restrooms.

Ryan looked at the jacket, and then turned to Espo. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked, uncrossing his arms slightly to point at the jacket- specifically, its pocket.

It only took Esposito a moment to figure out what his partner was thinking.

"Bro, you're a genius. A sick, twisted, evil genius. Let's do it," he said, quickly reaching into the pocket of Castle's jacket, grabbing what he was looking for, before both fully grown men ran back to their seats, snickering as if they were children.

* * *

><p><strong>(Break Room)<strong>

"You told him!" Lanie enthused, shutting the door.

"Told him what?" Kate questioned with a straight face, starting to make coffees for everyone.

"Don't give me that. You told him you love him. Don't even try to deny it. I can see by the look on your face."

"Right, sorry, I forgot you were an expert in body language studies," Kate replied sarcastically.

"I never said I was, but I am an expert in being your best female friend, and I know that your face is different than it was before you dragged Castle into the locker room. Before, you were looking at him like you were ready to pounce on him, but you wouldn't quite let the obvious love you have for him get through to your face. Maybe a little bit of it occasionally made its way through, without your permission, but now you're not even hiding it. Kate, you and I both know that he knows. Just admit it."

Kate's lips turned up into a smile, "Yeah, he knows."

"Finally!"

Kate nodded in agreement, and laughed.

Suddenly, the vibrator started up again, and Kate jumped slightly at the sensation.

"I'm going to kill him," Kate said, putting down the mug she was currently filling with coffee, and walking toward the door to the bullpen.

"Did he turn it back on again?"

"Yeah," she said with an aggravated tone, before walking out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>(Bullpen)<strong>

"Where's Castle?" Kate asked Ryan and Esposito.

"He went to the bathroom," Ryan replied. He watched as their boss quickly walked around the corner, toward the bathrooms.

She almost ran into him, not really paying attention to where she was going, just trying to get to the bathroom as soon as possible, to yell at Castle.

"Damn it, Castle! You said you were going to give me some time to rest!" she exclaimed.

"I am! I haven't touched the remote since before we-"

"Then explain to me why the vibrator is currently ON," she whispered harshly.

"I don't know! I didn't turn it on, though, I swear!"

Kate quickly turned around, storming back toward their desks.

"Guys, it's not funny. Give us back the remote," she said, glaring at Ryan and Esposito.

"You mean the remote to...," Esposito trailed off, "You actually think we'd take that?" he asked Beckett.

"You two just might be stupid enough to do that, yes," she replied.

"Well, we didn't," Ryan said, drinking the coffee that Lanie brought to them while Beckett was going to find Castle.

She glared at them for a moment or two, not sure whether or not to accept what they said. Either they were telling the truth, or their poker faces were getting really good, because she believed them.

"Then where is the damn thing? Castle, did you leave it in the locker room?"

"I don't know. I thought I put it in my pocket, but it's not in here," he replied, checking his jacket.

"I'll go back to the locker room, and look for it, then," she sighed, walking toward the elevator.

"Good, you two are back from whatever it was you needed to do," Gates said, sticking her head out of her office, "May I please see you both in here for a moment?"

"Shit," Kate whispered, turning back around and heading toward Gates' office, Castle following closely behind.

* * *

><p><strong>(Gates' Office)<strong>

"Here are some of the files for the cold case Detectives Ryan and Esposito started working on while you two were gone," Gates said, handing them a stack of paperwork, "Have them bring you up to speed."

"Yes, Sir," Beckett replied, looking down at her watch. _2:30pm._ She thought to herself. _Not bad. A few more hours, and then we can go home... Hmm, I've never thought about Castle's loft as "home" before. Well, it *is* more of a home than my apartment is, that's for sure. Maybe, even if I win the bet, I'll still agree to have dinner with his family, do the movie marathon, and sleep over. It would make the payback a hell of a lot easier to do, since he'd already be-_

"Detective!" Gates shouted, her tone making it obvious to Kate that the captain had been trying to get her attention for quite some time. "Finally. I was waiting for you to come back to Earth, and pay attention to what I was asking you."

"Sorry, what was your question?"

"I asked you 'What was it that took you and Mr. Castle so long to take care of?'"

Kate startled a bit. Not just because Gates' question caught her off guard, but because the vibrations picked up a bit. Someone obviously has it, damn it, and she's going to figure out who it is. Hopefully, the boys really do have it, because if someone found it in the locker room, and they somehow trace it back to her, she might end up in deep trouble.

"I," her voice cracked, so she cleared it, "lost my keys; needed someone to help me retrace my steps, just in case look right past them."

"Castle, take the paperwork out to the other detectives, please, and spread it out on the break room table with them."

He nodded. Rick's fingers brushed over Kate's as he took the paperwork from her. The hand that was on the opposite side of the paperwork, out of Gates' line of sight, squeezed hers softly, trying to apologize - without words - for having to leave her alone in the room with Gates, who was most likely going to question her further. He took the folders out to the boys, closing the door behind himself.

"So you lost your keys, huh?" Gates asked Kate.

"Yes," Kate responded, nodding, not meeting Gates' eyes.

"Did you find them?"

"Yes."

"Beckett, you're obviously lying," Gates smirked, folding her arms across her chest, and leaning back in her chair. She was enjoying this way too much. "Do you want to try telling me the truth?"

"Not really, no."

"At least you're honest about not wanting to be honest," she laughed, "It has something to do with the dare - whatever it is - doesn't it?"

"I- Uh, it- We-" she stammered out.

"I'll take that as a yes, and leave you alone... For now. Go ahead, catch up with Castle so Ryan and Esposito don't have to explain the case details twice."

For the second time that day, Kate ran out of Gates' office.

* * *

><p><strong>(Bullpen)<strong>

While Castle and Beckett were in Gates' office, Esposito took the remote out of his pocket. "Psst!" he whispered to Lanie, who was putting Castle and Beckett's coffees on Kate's desk.

"What?" Lanie asked, turning her head to look at the boys.

Esposito held up the remote with one hand, and put his other to his mouth, holding up his pointer finger in a shh motion, both men snickering.

"Kate would kill you two if she found out what you were doing," Lanie said pausing for a moment, before declaring, "I want in."

She walked toward them, her hand out, grabbing it from Esposito, before quickly pressing six on the remote, and then pocketing it.

They all quickly looked toward Gates' office, laughing as Kate's posture subtly, but quickly, changed.

"If I know Kate, and I do, she's going to come out here, and check to make sure you two definitely don't have it. She obviously knows someone has it, and hopefully, she thinks someone took it from the locker room, and is trying to figure out what it does. I was with her when you guys started messing around with it, so she shouldn't suspect me. Don't be surprised, however, if she goes through your desks, and checks your pockets, looking for it, to see whether or not you're telling the truth. So it's probably in everyone's best interest for me to hold onto it, for now. After she's done checking you guys, I'll give it back to one of you, okay?"

"Good idea," they agreed.

"Okay, Castle's heading toward the door. Just keep acting like nothing's up, and hopefully, they won't suspect anything," Lanie warned.

"Gates wants us to move this to the break room, and spread everything out on the table. She's questioning Beckett, and she clearly knows something's up. Hopefully she won't figure it out, though, because I like it here, and I really don't feel like getting kicked out."


	15. Chapter 15

A few minutes later, Kate awkwardly speed-walks into the break room, sitting down next to Castle, across from Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie. They all look at her with questioning eyes.

"She knows that what we're doing has to do with the dare. She doesn't know what it is, but she's suspicious, and is probably going to keep a close eye on us, to try to figure out what it is," she says, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "At least she can't see us in here, from her office. So what are the details of the cold case?"

For the next twenty minutes, Ryan and Esposito lay out the details of the case and give everyone something to look over and review, hoping the original detectives and medical examinator missed something. Lanie gets the autopsy report, Ryan gets financials, Esposito gets emails, and Castle and Beckett share phone records. They spend some time comparing information, hoping to find something that looks out of the ordinary, but unfortunately, nothing does.

Lanie suddenly remembers the remote in her pocket. She discreetly reaches in, finds the remote, and presses a random button on it. Luckily for Kate, the button Lanie pressed was 2. Unluckily for Ryan, and Esposito, it reminds Kate of the presence of the vibrator, which she had semi-successfully been able to block it out of her mind for a little while.

She sighs gratefully at the less annoying sensation, and then stands up, plants both hands firmly on the table, and says, "Guys, seriously. Which one of you two has it?

"We don't have it," Ryan says.

"I don't believe you."

"Honestly, we don't," Esposito comments.

"Prove it. Stand up. Empty your pockets."

Esposito groans as if inconvenienced, but is secretly thankful Lanie had the forethought to hold onto it for them.

They empty their pockets onto the table, and it frustrates Kate when there isn't anything out of the ordinary in there. Their keys, wallets, and phones, yes, but no remote control.

"Damn it, I really thought you two had it," she says as they put their things back into their pockets. She then turns a bit to look at the M.E., folds her arms across her chest, quirks an eyebrow, and questions, "Lanie?"

Suddenly, both of the men who thought they pulled a fast one on their boss are thinking, _"Shit, shit, shit."_

"Yes?" she questions.

"How about you show me what's in your pockets?"

Lanie slowly stands and empties her pockets, and Ryan and Espo are shocked when there isn't a remote in her there, either.

Kate gets worried when nobody has the remote.. She thought surely one of the three would have grabbed it. _That means it might actually have been in the locker room! Damn it! Then who has it?_

She looks over at Castle, and he shrugs, also wondering where it could be.

Lanie hides a smirk as she sees the detective panic a little bit. It's a good thing she didn't wear her low-cut socks today. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had any other place to put the remote. She was lucky Kate was preoccupied enough with the contents of the boys' pockets, that she was able to sneak it from her pocket into her sock without being noticed. She looks over at the boys, who clearly have no idea where she put the remote and glances down quickly, bringing their attention down to her feet.

They both realize where it is, and grin. Apparently, Lanie is a few steps ahead of them, and knows Kate well enough to think she'd suspect Lanie to be in on it, too.

They go back to looking over any information they have on the victim for over an hour and a half. Every so often, the remote gets passed subtly between the three, changing the speed and making Kate more and more anxious to get back into the locker room to see whether or not it's there, and see if someone has taken actually taken it.

Between the stress of not being able to find anything out of the ordinary on the vic's records, not knowing where the remote is, and the actual vibrator itself, Kate is slowly losing her patience. She could really use a distraction from her situation.

Just then, Gates opens the door, and walks inside. Not exactly the distraction Kate wanted, but it'll have to do.

"Any luck on the case?" she asks.

"Nope, absolutely nothing. The victim was most likely just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Kate sighs.

"That's what I was afraid of. Alright, you might as well go home, then. All of you. It's the weekend, and if nothing has popped up in that case by now, then probably nothing will. None of you are on call this weekend, so go home, and enjoy it. Come back on Monday, well rested, and maybe there will be a murder with actual leads and suspects to work with." She pauses for a moment. "Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, I'd like to see you both in my office again, before you leave, please," she says, and then walks back out of the break room.

"Ugh, I wonder what it's about this time," Castle groans.

They all put everything away, and prepare to leave.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Kate sighs, and they make their way into Gates' office.

* * *

><p>When Castle and Beckett close the door behind themselves, Ryan, Espo, and Lanie turn off the remote, leaving it on Kate's desk, quickly write, "Don't panic, we had it the whole time," on a piece of paper, and then make their way out of the precinct, before Castle and Beckett can return and murder them.<p>

* * *

><p>Once inside of Gates' office, Gates gestures for them to sit down in the chairs on the other side of her desk. She notices their hesitance as they follow her instructions.<p>

"What's this about, Sir?" Castle asks.

"Remember how the cameras in the elevator are broken, Detective?" she asks Kate.

"Um, yes?" Kate responds, unsure of why Gates is asking her that question.

"Well," she starts, taking something from her desk drawer and putting it on the desk in front of them. "The cameras in the interrogation room were working perfectly fine today. These DVD recordings are proof of that."

Castle looks panicked, and Kate looks like she's about to throw up.

"Relax, you two. I stopped watching the recording after you started kissing. I assume it progressed from there, and really didn't need to see what happened next," she says, and watches as they both calm down a bit, but still look panicked and embarrassed.

There's silence for a few moments before Castle states, "I'm surprised you're not screaming, and haven't kicked both of us out by now."

"Actually, I was just about to ask you to leave."

"But-"

"Not for forever, Mr. Castle. Just for now, so I can talk to Beckett." She holds out the DVDs, "Here, you can keep this. I obviously don't want it," she laughs.

He takes them, and leaves, deciding that asking questions as to why he's still allowed in the precinct won't do him any good.

"He's a good man," Gates says quietly Kate.

"Yeah, he is," she responds, a confused look on her face.

"What's that look for, Detective?"

"Just wondering why you didn't yell at us about PDA."

"Let me tell you something, Kate," she says, and Kate's eyes widen at the informal usage of her first name. "I'm a lot like you, whether you want to hear that, or not. We're both tough, strong, responsible women, who don't have much fun unless someone's there to make sure we have it. The man who made me have some fun was my husband. He made me loosen up and enjoy life; not just live it. Life isn't worth it if you don't have fun."

She stops talking for a moment to let that thought penetrate into Kate's mind, and then continues, "My husband made me have fun. Back when we first met, when I first made detective, he was the lead detective of the team I was on, and he drove me nuts. He was childish, and goofy, and annoying, and I didn't understand how he could be so fun-loving, when I was definitely not. He had a serious side, too, but only a select few people got to see it... But somehow, all of his annoying quirks suddenly became exciting, and I couldn't wait to go to work and see him, though I never let on how much seeing him made my day. We started spending time outside of work, working on the cases at bars, diners, coffee shops, and sometimes even our apartments. We became very close. After a while, we started seeing each other at those places when we didn't have a case. Before I knew it, I had fallen deeply in love with him. I started having fun because of him, and he became more serious because of me. We balanced each other out."

"Yin and Yang," Kate whispers. Castle was right, when he said that, years ago.

"Exactly. And my husband and I are not unlike you and Castle. I've noticed that since I first saw you two working together. Castle is to you, as my husband is to me. Of course, when it was discovered that my husband and I were dating, our captain switched me with someone else in the other team. That way, we could still see each other at work, but wouldn't have the same case. That way, we wouldn't ever be in a situation where we would have to risk protocol, to save each other's lives, but we could still see each other. It devastated me. He was so much fun to build theory with, and I knew we would follow procedure for any case. I could put our safety first, and our feelings second. I knew I was able to take control in a life-or-death situation. But my captain didn't give us the chance to prove it. That, Kate, is why I'm not kicking him out. I'm going to give you that chance to prove that you can work together without messing up. The chance I wish I was given. Hell, I've been giving you that chance for a while, now, and you have yet to prove me wrong. I know you can work together, even as a couple, because you and Castle have been in a relationship for a while, now. Just without the labels. In a life-or-death situation, you wouldn't do anything different now than you would have done months ago."

She pauses again, to take a breath.

"As long as you keep the PDA to a minimum, and follow protocol, I see no reason to not let you continue working together. Just don't screw up, and he can continue to help out around here for as long as he wants to."

"Thank you, Sir."

"You're welcome. You really love him, don't you?" she asks, looking back through the window to see Castle playing a game on his iPhone.

"I really do," Kate admits, smiling at the sight her partner, before turning her eyes back towards Gates.

"He's really good for you."

"I know he is."

"I'll want an invitation to the wedding."

Kate lets out a startled laugh, and says, "We only just got together today."

"But there will be a wedding, someday. I can tell... Alright, well, I believe that's all," Gates says, standing up, and gathering her stuff.

"Okay," Kate responds, also rising to her feet.

"Oh, and would you please get in contact with Detective Ryan or Detective Esposito, and ask them how I can retrieve the money I won in the pool?"

Kate shakes her head, laughing. "You were in on it, too?"

"The whole precinct was."

"I highly doubt that the _entire_ precinct was betting on us."

"Believe it, or not, it's true. All of the departments. We all knew it was inevitable. You were just the last one to realize it."

"I realized it. I just wasn't ready to admit it, Kate comments, opening the door to the bullpen.

They're both quiet for a moment, before Gates finally says, "Have a good weekend, Beckett."

"You, too, Sir."

And then she closes the door behind herself, and walks back over to Castle.


	16. Chapter 16

"Apparently, they _did_ have the remote," he states when he sees her.

He hands her Lanie's quickly-written note, and watches as she lets out a sigh of relief and comments, "Good. I'm glad we don't have to go hunting for it. I'll kill them all later, though."

She grabs all of her stuff, lets him help her into her coat, and walks with him into the elevator.

"I'm sure you will. By the way, you lost the bet. Everyone found out about the nature of the dare."

"I did not! They didn't find out because of any noises I made! They found out because of the stupid interrogation room!"

"Well you most definitely made some noises when we were in there."

"Yes, but the noises I made weren't what alerted them to the dare."

"They still found out about it because of you."

"But not because of the noises I made," she reiterates.

"Now you're just nit-picking."

"No, I'm not."

They walk out of the elevator, and towards her car.

"Why don't we just call it even?" he suggests.

"Does that mean we both win, or we both lose?"

"If we both lose the bet, then we both have to suffer the consequences of it. Winning the bet gets us both nothing, but losing it allows us to have dinner with my family, a movie night, a sleep over, and some of that mysterious payback you promised."

"I like the sound of that. So should we stop by my place so I can grab a few things, and then head to yours?"

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

><p>When they arrive at Castle's apartment, Kate carries a freshly-packed duffle bag up to his guest bedroom.<p>

At her apartment, he offered to help her pack her duffle bag, but she declined, telling him she could manage, and that he should just sit on her couch and behave while she packed. Truth be told, she didn't think them being together in a room with a bed was such a good idea at the moment; it wouldn't help them get to his loft anytime soon. She also didn't want him to see any non-clothing item she put into her bag, that she might use during her payback later.

She changes into more comfortable clothes in the guest bedroom. The vibrator being in her bag, instead of in her pants, is a welcome relief.

She meets Castle in the kitchen, and sees that he's already preparing the spaghetti and meatballs they'd agreed on earlier. When she goes to help him out, he makes a few innuendo-filled jokes about her handling his meat, and touching his balls, that have her rolling her eyes, just as he had expected she would.

"I thought easy jokes like those were below you, Castle."

"That's not the only thing I'd like below me," he mumbles.

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

Not long before dinner's ready, Alexis and Martha arrive home. They greet Kate, not knowing that she would be there, but excited to see her, anyway, and help put dishes and silverware on the table.

Everyone enjoys dinner, listening to Alexis and Martha talk about their days, while avoiding talking about their own. The events of their day wouldn't exactly be an "appropriate" topic of discussion.

When they all move into the lounge area, Martha notices the way Kate sits closer to Rick on the sofa than usual. When she leans into him, and he puts his arm around her, Martha knows something has happened between the two; something very good, indeed.

She doesn't say anything, though; just raises an eyebrow at the two, and waits for them to respond.

Rick catches his mother's eye, and says, "Oh, did we forget to mention that we're sort of together now?"

"Sort of?" Alexis questions.

"Well, we still need to have a discussion about it, but we already told each other that we love each other, so-"

"When did all of this happen?!" Martha asks, cutting Kate off.

"Most of it happened today. Some of it, yesterday," Castle says, "But, like Kate said, we still need to talk about exactly where we stand."

"Well how about we get the movie marathon started, so you two can do that afterwards?" Alexis suggests.

"Good idea," Kate comments, wrapping her arms around Castle, relaxing into his warm embrace.

As the movie begins, Kate lets her mind wander to thoughts about the conversation they're going to have. She thinks about her hopes, her fears, and her future. When she feels him kiss the side of her head, and give her a soft squeeze, she knows she has nothing to worry about.


	17. Chapter 17

At around midnight, Martha and Alexis decide to go to bed, leaving Kate and Rick alone to have their conversation. They leave the TV on, as background noise, so it doesn't get too quiet between them.

"Do you want to have this conversation tonight, or would you rather wait until tomorrow?" he asks, pulling away from her a bit, so he can see her face.

"It's probably better to do it tonight, so we can get it over with, and know exactly where we stand."

"I think we both have a general idea of that, Kate."

"Yes, but I don't want to mess this up. I can't lose you, Castle," she says, looking down at her hands, very uneasy at the thought of him not being in her life anymore.

"Hey," he says, putting a hand under her chin, making her look at him. He leans forward and kisses her softly on the lips before telling her, "You're not going to lose me."

"But what if-"

He kisses her again, harder, not letting her voice any hypothetical reasons they might break up.

"No. I won't let it happen. I won't let anything come between us. I've waited so long for this, and I'm not going to let either of us screw this up." He pauses for a moment before questioning, "Is there anything else that worries you?"

"Well, everything that I'm worried about, broadly speaking, comes down to one of us screwing up, a fight ensuing, and then that ruining everything. But, if we can trust each other to not let either of us mess this up, then my fears aren't anything to worry about, because I know we'll have it under control."

"You love control, don't you?"

"You have no idea."

"I think I'll find out eventually," he says, grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him, so she's straddling his lap.

She lets out a surprised squeak, but is silenced by his mouth on hers. She wraps her arms around his neck, kissing him back fiercely. It doesn't take long before his hands slide under her shirt, stroking the bare skin of her back. One hand makes its way down to her ass, squeezing at the same moment she grinds her hips into his. They both gasp at the contact.

After a few minutes, they slow their movements, cooling off a bit. She gives him one last kiss on his lips before saying, "I had a nice night, Castle."

"What about the other parts of the day?"

"Yeah, that was pretty nice, too," she chuckles.

"How about the rest of the night?" he asks, waggling his eyebrows.

Loving to frustrate him, she replies, "Well, the rest of the night is going to be spent in the lovely bed in your guest bedroom."

"You know, I have an even better bed in my room."

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"No, it wasn't, but I thought-"

"Thought what?"

"That it was just an excuse to get you to spend the night here."

"I _am_ spending the night here."

"But I figured since we've already-"

"Nope. Guest bedroom," she says, before moving off of his lap and standing up.

"Kaaaate," he whines.

"Oh, stop pouting. I'll see you in the morning," she says, running her thumb over his bottom lip. She grabs his hands and pulls him up off of the sofa, and into her arms, kissing him and saying, "Goodnight, Castle."

"Goodnight, Kate," he whispers, kissing her one more time, before walking towards his bedroom, muttering under his breath, "Damn infuriating woman getting me all worked up and then sleeping upstairs, instead of in my bed with me."

"Love you, too, Castle," she says, smirking at his childish behavior.

He turns back and looks at her, then, and can't hide the smile that blossoms on his face. He winks at her before disappearing into his bedroom.

Little does he know what she has in store for him.

* * *

><p>A little after three am, Kate quietly makes her way into Rick's bedroom, when she knows he's fast asleep. She slowly moves towards his bed, and looks at the sight in front of her, laughing internally at the thought herself being the one doing the staring this time, rather than him. Not wasting any more time to delay the fun she has in store, she quickly strips down to her bra and panties. Thankful that Castle's a heavy sleeper, she carefully grabs his wrists, and secures each one to his headboard with a set of handcuffs.<p>

She switches on a bedside lamp, not too bright, but enough to see him better, and moves the blanket off of him, glad that he's not wearing a shirt. It would only end up getting in her way. She kneels next to him on the bed, and runs a hand up and down his chest, slowly willing him to wake up. He lets out a soft moan in his sleep, and she slides her hand down, stroking lower and lower every time. She looks down and sees a slight bulge forming where his groin is, under his sweatpants. She cups him, then, and feels his hips involuntarily buck into her hand. She continues stroking, feeling him harden more and more.

* * *

><p>He wakes up, slightly confused, feeling extremely turned on. Opening his eyes, he looks down and sees Kate on her knees, wearing only an extremely sexy red bra and matching panties, and stroking him.<p>

"Kate," he gasps.

"Oh, hey. Look who's _up_," she says, grinning mischievously.

He goes to reach for her, but when his arms don't move very far, he looks up and realizes that he's cuffed to his headboard. And those two pairs of cuffs definitely _aren't_ her work handcuffs.

"Nuh-uh, it's my turn to be in control." She squeezes him through his pants and he groans. "You know, have some fun... I told you you had no idea how much I like control. Looks like you're about to find out."

"Did you have all of this planned out when you were determined to sleep in the guest room earlier?"

"I've been planning this all day, Castle."

"And you just wanted me to be unsuspecting for when you had your wicked way with me, didn't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And now you're going to uncuff me, right?"

"Not a chance. I've barely begun my payback. Now you're going to be tortured and teased and not allowed to come until_I_ say so."

He groans again; this time, not out of pleasure.

"That's what you get for not letting me come today."

"I let you, though!"

"Both times, I had to drag you into a room and force you to let me come. That doesn't count. When would you have let me come, today, if I hadn't done that?"

"Um..."

"Exactly." She reaches into his pants and pulls him free, then continues to stroke him. "I have to say, though. As someone who has never given up control to someone else before, you sure made it worthwhile."

"You've never been the submissive partner before?"

"No. I've never been with someone I trusted enough to let them take control of me. But then you did it, and I trusted you, and... Wow," she shivers, thinking about earlier.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

She removes her hand from him, then, moving to pull off his pants and boxers. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm down a little bit. She got him aroused so quickly, and he was already on the verge of losing it. When she's finished removing his clothing, she reaches behind her back, unclasps her bra, and throws it onto the floor where his clothes are.

"Hmm..."

"What?" he chokes out, staring at her chest. She doesn't mind, though. She's used to his staring.

"I'm trying to figure out what I want to do next. Whether I should put my mouth on you, or put my hands down my panties and take care of myself, or both. What do you think I should do?"

It's hard for her not to laugh when Castle is gaping at her, seemingly unable to process what's going on, but she manages to keep a straight face. "Maybe I should take care of myself for a bit, and let you enjoy the view," she says, sliding her hand down and touching herself. He's looking at her underwear as if staring at her them hard enough will make them magically disappear. She dips two fingers into her wetness before letting them come back up to circle her clit, causing her to let out a soft, _"Fuck."_

She works herself up to the point of coming, but stops before she gets there, teasing herself almost as much as she's teasing him. Then she takes her hand out, and goes back to stroking him, the warmth and wetness working together to torture him in the most exquisite way. He struggles furiously against the handcuffs, wanting to touch her so badly. She leans down and kisses his stomach, and then lower, and he lets out a stream of curse words.

"Kate, please."

She lifts her head up just enough to say, "No. I'm not done yet," before putting him in her mouth again. He's almost there when she stops again, lifts up fully, removes her underwear, and moves to straddle him.

"Kate, let me out of the cuffs, please."

"Not until after you've come."

"But you won't let me!"

"Now you're getting it," she says, and winks at him.

She spreads her legs wider, lets her center come in contact with him, and grinds herself up and down his length, not letting him enter her just yet. After she feels they've both had enough torture, she takes him into her hand, aligns them, and then sinks down onto him fully.

They both moan at the sensation; he's large, and she's tight, and they fit so perfectly together. She stays there for a moment, and lets her hands roam, relishing the feeling of them finally being connected as intimately as possible, before she rises back up and establishes a slow, grinding motion. She leans forward and plants open-mouthed kisses on his chest, neck, and chin, before finally kissing him on the mouth. She gradually picks up the pace, going quicker and quicker, until he's almost slamming into her.

"Kate, please, I'm so close."

"I'm almost there. You come when I come, okay?"

Unable to speak, he just nods his head.

She slips her hand between their bodies, rubbing her clit and immediately breaking apart around him. He follows a few seconds later, groaning into her neck. They slow their pace, and she rolls off of him, removing the cuffs from his wrists, and putting them down on the bedside table. His newly-freed arms wrap around her and pull her into his body, where she quickly makes herself comfortable, using him as a pillow.

He looks at her, kisses her on the lips softly, and says, "I had _no_ idea."

* * *

><p><em>I'm still shocked whenever I see how much everyone enjoyed this fic, and how people are still finding and enjoying it, years later. (Especially since I was 1617 years old, and VERY nervous, when I wrote this.)_

__Thanks, once again, to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, etc., and for all of your continued support.__

_-Gina_


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